A New Girl in Town
by Musically
Summary: Victoria, a teenaged girl living in a world of commercialized Christmas, is not thrilled about the upcoming holiday. Will her opinions change when she's thrust into Halloween Town? Wow, that was a bad summary. My first fic, reviews wanted.
1. A Visit to the Graveyard

Okay...this is my first fan-fic ever. So, yeah. Deal with it. Review if you want, and I don't care if you flame or not. Though I'd rather you didn't. Thanks!

Chapter One:

She walked unnoticed among the bustle of holiday shoppers grouped along the sidewalk that led to the mall. Good cheer and tidings blasted from the loudspeakers implanted in the shops along the strip, adding to the spirit of the holiday. Glassy, crystal ornaments that were ridiculously expensive glittered in the shops' displays despite the dismal weather.

It wasn't even December yet. This didn't stop the dancing Santa Claus dolls from shaking their round bosoms in the shop windows, much to the delight of innocent five-year-olds and tacky forty-year-olds who were window shopping.

One girl wasn't amused. She pushed past the crowds who were too preoccupied by the pretty lights and shiny things to notice her. Blending in wasn't a problem, as she was quite bundled up in a downy white vest that was layered over a hunter green shirt.

Her blue jeans faded into the bottom half of the crowd. A thin, golden string hung from her neck, holding a locket that was hidden beneath the clothing. Flapping in the chilled breeze behind her was a cream-colored scarf, accentuated by the silver specks dashed in here and there. The tassels on the end flowed daintily in the wind.

Chestnut brown hair cascaded down her shoulders in waves, stopping at the middle of her forearm. It was mostly hidden by a crocheted ski cap that was an ivory white. It fit snugly on her head. Tresses of hair fell into her face. She brushed them away absentmindedly, revealing forest green eyes that didn't seem to glitter as brightly as they should.

The girl suddenly broke away from the crowd. She looked over her shoulder, making sure no one's eyes were following her as she veered to the left. They weren't. No cries of "Where is she going?" or "Come back, Victoria!" were heard from the bustling group, and she was glad. She wanted to be alone.

A few streets and a frost-covered field later, Victoria found herself standing at the black and grey gates of the cemetery. It wasn't a place she usually visited. Her pale, frozen fingers pushed gently at the iron bars, which opened with a groaning sound as it turned on its rusty hinges. Dead grass crunched beneath her shoes. Victoria stepped past the gate of earl grey stones to enter the graveyard, closing the iron door behind her.

Victoria's freezing hands seemed to go rigid as an eerie gust of wind wrapped around her. The cemetery was on a small plot of land, but impressive statues and sculptures of crosses and angels lined the place to make it look much bigger than it was. Victoria sighed. Immediately, an icy cloud drifted out from between her lips, dissipating within seconds into the frosty air.

She wasn't exactly sure what had driven her to come here. None of her relatives had died recently (at least, none that she knew personally), and she normally shied away from morbid places like this. Victoria shrugged the feeling off. It was actually pretty peaceful here; no crowds, carols, or annoying toy jingles to bother her. In fact, she was the only one in the graveyard.

The girl trudged through the frosted grass, drawing closer to a large statue of an angel that stood directly in the center of the cemetery. Victoria raised an eyebrow, interested. The angel's wings spread almost six feet wide, and she could tell a lot of time was put into making it.

Marble white stone had been carved to take on a variety of new textures. The folds in the dress of the angel looked as soft as silk, and the feathers on the wings seemed like they should belong on a bird. Her face was tilted at an angle. Blank, lifeless eyes stared at Victoria with a strangely sympathetic expression, and Victoria stared back. Curly hair fell down to the angel's breasts. The angel's arms were opened wide as though they were inviting someone to come closer, to bask in the glory that was the sculpture because no one had in a very long time.

That's exactly what Victoria did. Slow, careful steps brought her ever closer to the angel, who stood tall and proud despite the setting that it was put into. Soon Victoria was so close that her breath fogged up the plaque that rested on the angel's waist. She raised an eyebrow and wiped the plaque off so that she could read it.

"Here lies Jack Skellington," Victoria muttered. That was all. There were no dates of birth or death, no epitaph, no intricate little carvings at the bottoms or sides. Victoria was about to turn and walk away, but something peculiar caught her eye. She leaned closer to the plaque, looking at the fine print at the bottom of the stone.

"Halloween Town directly below," Victoria whispered. She let out a hollow laugh. Who would put something like that on their own epitaph? Maybe a cruel prankster had engraved it with an Exacto knife a few years ago…but then again, the writing did look old. She ran a finger across the letters like a blind girl reading Braille, touching each crevasse and dip in the marble.

Then Victoria stepped backwards, ready to go back to her world of Christmas spirit. She slipped. Her foot had become caught on the strange handle that was carved into the tomb on which the angel stood, and she fell backwards to the cold, hard ground. Victoria's breath was harshly forced from her. Gasping for air, she wrenched her foot free from the handle of the tomb's door and made the door swing wide open.

Victoria held a hand to her stomach while she slowly caught her breath, now very ready to go. She slowly picked herself up from the ground and brushed off the dirt that had gotten on her when she fell. A little had gotten on her vest and jeans. When she was just about ready to go, she remembered that the crypt door had been opened. Reluctantly, Victoria walked slowly to the angel statue. The angel no longer seemed peaceful; it looked as though it was looming over her with a violent stare that only demons were capable of.

Victoria gave a small shudder. A rotten odor had begun to drift from the open grave to her nose, discouraging her from coming any closer. She held her breath and ran quickly to the door, gripping the handle tightly and lifting the stone slab upwards. It was heavier than she thought. Victoria exhaled deeply and breathed in despite the bad smell and tugged on the handle again. This time, she raised it a great deal more easily than the last time, and it came up to her waist when she pulled.

To lift it up all the way, Victoria skirted around the edge of the crypt until she was facing the opposite way. The door was closing. An awful creaking noise echoed in the graveyard as the slab turned on its ancient hinges, slowly resealing the tomb to the outside world. The marble now became pressed down on Victoria's fingers. Quickly, she pulled them out from under the slab, and it slammed down into place at once.

The cemetery was now silent. Victoria turned around and started to walk fast to the gate. Before she even touched the iron bars, however, a rumbling noise erupted from the grave that she had just visited. She pivoted around. To her horror, the tomb had opened again and a pair of giant, clawed hands was stretching out of the grave to snatch her up.

Screaming was the last thing on Victoria's mind. She just ran. The frightened girl got to the gate, tugging frantically on the ebony bars so she could escape. It was no use; they were locked. Victoria swiveled around, eyeing both the orange and black hands in fear. The orange hand reached her first and covered her mouth so she couldn't possibly scream for help, and then the black seized her waist and slowly began to drag her into the crypt.

Victoria's cries were muffled by the tangerine hand. She pulled desperately at both of the enormous hands, but her attempts at freedom were futile. All she could do was wait while the two things pulled her into the tomb that would lead her into Halloween Town.

Musically: So? How was it?

Victoria: ...I hate you. Like, really. A lot.

Musically: Aw, you're just sore 'cause I let two giant hands grab you and pull you into a grave.

Victoria: Please. Don't review, it only encourages her.


	2. Lock, Shock, and Barrel

**Chapter 2: Lock, Shock, and Barrel

* * *

_It's working again! I see that I failed to put a disclaimer on Chapter One, so I'll squeeze one in: I do not own Nightmare Before Christmas or any of Tim Burton's glorious work. However, I do own this story and Victoria. pokes Victoria_**

_Victoria: Still hate you._

* * *

Victoria shakily got to her feet. The giant hands that had captured her had vanished by now, and the falling feeling had stopped. It was a longer drop than it should have been, that was for sure. Where was she?

"I know. I'll just feel against a wall or something, and that'll get me out of here," Victoria said to herself. She couldn't see an inch in front of her face, so she spread her arms out to the left and right to find a sturdy surface. Unfortunately, there was none.

"Crap," she moaned. With nothing else to do, Victoria walked straight ahead in hopes of finding some kind of light. She walked forward for what seemed like ages, but no light appeared in front of her. A tight, nervous feeling squeezed her consciousness. She ignored it and kept moving on, keeping her eyes in front of her and her mind from worrying.

Suddenly, a small speck of white seemed to float in front of Victoria. A relieved smile spread across her face as she ran towards it. The white dot grew larger as she got closer, and soon enough it was almost blinding. Victoria held a hand over her eyes, stopped running, and squinted into the brightness. The light got bigger still, and it wasn't long before it engulfed her completely.

Victoria sighed. She was falling again, and she knew it. The girl braced for impact as her vision became clearer and showed grey dirt rapidly approaching her falling form. She closed her eyes.

_WHUMP! _Victoria hit ground…or at least, a tree. The spindly branches at the top broke when she fell, making her plummet to the larger limbs below. Twigs scraped and scratched Victoria as she descended. Finally, bruised and beaten, she was caught by a large branch near the ground and stayed there.

Victoria let her arms flop down on both sides of the branch. She coughed once or twice and then tried to sit up. One hand grabbed the trunk for safety, and then the other gripped the limb that she sat on. Once Victoria was steady, she put a hand to her pounding head. She opened her eyes (they had been closed the whole time), which widened in shock when she saw where she was.

Everything was grey. The sky, the ground, the trees…even the headstones that poked out from a nearby cemetery. Victoria rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. She could see a pale full moon in the sky, which didn't make sense. It was noon when she got grabbed by the hands.

"Meow!" Victoria jumped. She twisted around to look behind her, and a black cat was sitting calmly in a branch, licking its paw. Victoria let out a relieved breath.

"At least there's one normal thing here," Victoria said, reaching out to pet the cat. The feline hissed and arched its back, and then it darted down the trunk of the tree with lightning speed. Victoria raised an eyebrow and withdrew her hand.

"Never mind. I've gone crazy," she stated, "But, even if I am insane, I should probably get down from here." Victoria accidentally let her bottom half drop from the tree so she was hanging from the branch. "Whoa!" She tried to get a better grip on the stick, but she couldn't lift herself up again. Defeated, she hung on the branch.

Then, she heard people's voices coming from behind a giant hill to her left. She craned her neck to see who was coming.

"I wonder where Jack's been hiding."

"I bet he got eaten by the giant snake that lives in the lake!"

"You idiot, there is no lake."

"There is too! You just haven't seen it."

"Is not."

"Is too!"

"Quiet! If someone hears us coming, we won't be able to prank Dr. Finklestein!"

The voices seemed to belong to three different children, two boys and one girl, who were bickering endlessly. Victoria would have laughed, but that would have made her fall. Before too long, the trio was on top of the hill and Victoria had a clear view of them.

They were dressed up in Halloween costumes: one devil, one skeleton, and one witch. The devil was in the lead, and he looked smug and confident. The witch followed closely behind, cackling as she shoved the devil and made him roll down the hill. Lastly, the skeleton brought up the rear, licking a lollipop as he trailed behind his two companions.

The devil child yelled as he tumbled down the hill. Sure enough, he came to a halt right in front of Victoria in her awkward position. The devil had landed upside-down, so he fell over and quickly got back up, staring at Victoria the whole time.

"Hey, guys! Look at this weird bat hanging from the tree!" he yelled to his approaching friends. The skeleton and witch ran to meet him, and they laughed at the sight of the poor girl.

"Look, it's all white and ugly!" the skeleton giggled.

The witch pointed and laughed, "It's not even hanging the right way!" All three were soon in a pile, laughing madly at the sight of Victoria. Victoria, on the other hand, wasn't amused.

"I am not a bat!" she yelled, struggling to keep her grip. The children's eyes widened in shock- or was it mischief? The witch was the first to leap up from the pile. She moved closer to Victoria, inspecting her thoroughly. The other two followed suit.

"If you're not a bat, are you a bird?" asked the skeleton boy.

"Yeah," said the witch, "You must be a bird without any wings."

Victoria's eye twitched.

"Listen," she said, "I'm not a bat or a bird. I'm a girl who happens to be stuck in a tree!"

"You're stuck in a tree? Are you sure you're not a cat?" the devil piped up. The trio started to laugh again. Victoria furrowed her eyebrows together in anger. How dare they be so rude to her? She lifted an arm to give them an obscene gesture, but it made her lose her grasp on the tree and plunge to the ground.

"Oof!" Victoria grunted as she hit the dirt. The children gathered around her head, looking down at her face. The witch shrugged.

"She's not a cat. She didn't land on her feet!" she said, chuckling happily.

"That's enough!" Victoria shouted, surprising the youngsters. She pushed herself up off of the ground, scattered the three kids, and stood in the middle of them. She was shocked when she saw that they only came up to her shoulders. However, she looked at each of them sternly.

"I am not a bat, a cat, or a bird! I'm a girl, got it? If you three aren't smart enough to figure that out, I feel very sorry for you!" she shouted. The children were silent for a moment.

Then the devil confronted Victoria. "If you're a girl, who are you?"

"I should be asking all of you the same question," Victoria said haughtily, "Why don't you introduce yourselves?"

The trio smiled. "Gladly," they said together.

"I'm Lock!" the devil boy announced.

"Shock!" said the girl.

"And Barrel!" the skeleton proclaimed. They all beamed at Victoria. She snorted once, and then broke out into laughter.

"Are you serious?" she asked between laughs. Frowning slightly, they nodded.

"Who are you then? Miss Priss?" Shock said coldly. Victoria shook her head.

"My name's Victoria. Sorry, I just…those are funny names, that's all."

"Victoria's no better, believe us," Lock retorted. Victoria shrugged.

"Sorry. Now…um…where am I?" she asked, embarrassed.

"You don't know?!" Barrel said.

Shock looked at her suspiciously, and then said, "She doesn't look like she's from here, does she? Her clothes are too weird." Victoria looked down at her clothes, which were now a little dirty but not torn.

"I'm not from here. I was grabbed by these two giant hands and pulled into a grave!" Victoria told them. They all raised their eyebrows in confusion.

"Yeah, sure. You do need to do something about your clothes, though, they look ridiculous!" Lock said, eyeing her hat in disgust. Shock's eyes brightened.

"I can help! Watch!" the little witch said. Her hands began to glow a bright green, and then she pointed towards Victoria's white vest. The green light zapped the vest, turning the fabric a pitch black color. Then it spread out to her forest green shirt. The shirt's color slowly faded to a bright tangerine orange, and little black stars dotted the sleeves.

Victoria felt a tingling sensation on top of her head and knew that her hat was changing colors too. Her pants stayed the same, but her shoes were enveloped by the green light and changed from brown to black. The green light disappeared as soon as it had arrived.

For a moment, Victoria stood still. Then she turned on Shock.

"What did you do to my clothes?" Victoria asked cautiously. Shock puffed out her chest in pride.

"The old witches taught me! Go look in the water for yourself!" Shock said. Lock and Barrel seemed impressed and whistled at Victoria. Victoria made a face, and then walked over to a nearby puddle of water.

She gasped when she saw her ensemble. Orange and black decorated her from head to toe!

"What is this, Halloween?" Victoria asked incredulously.

Lock, Shock and Barrel looked at her and simply said, "Yes!"

* * *

**_Musically: Oh, and thanks for the review, everyone!_**

**_Victoria: Halloween...Town? _**

**_Lock, Shock, and Barrel: Yep._**

**_Victoria: ...Crap..._**


	3. Broken Windows

**Disclaimer: _Nope. Still don't own Tim Burton's work. Darn. Oh, well, Christmas is coming up soon._**

**Musically: _Don't you hate it when you're stuck in Halloween Town with no clear ways of getting back?_**

**Victoria: _Don't leave me here!_**

**Lock, Shock, and Barrel: _(chanting) One of us...one of us..._**

* * *

****

Victoria began her walk down a grey, beaten path, not waiting for the three kids to follow. She stuck her hands in the black pockets of her vest. What had she done to deserve this? To have perfectly nice clothes changed into a black and orange fashion crime, to fall out of a tree, to be followed by three little demons...these things weren't supposed to happen to good girls who lived in quiet suburbs.

"Victoria! Victoria, wait up! We need your help!" Lock, Shock, and Barrel called out from behind her. Victoria ignored them and pumped her legs even faster. Their shouts got farther away, and she was glad. Finally, they stopped altogether. Victoria stood still for a minute, waiting for their yells to come again. They didn't.

Confused, Victoria spun around and looked down the opposite end of the trail. Silence resounded from that end. Soon, however, a faint whistling sound met her ears and grew louder as seconds went by. Then a black iron pitchfork came hurtling towards Victoria from over the horizon, screaming madly as it pushed against the wind.

A well-timed jump saved Victoria just in time. The pitchfork landed with a 'pink' as it was implanted in the blackened ground and quivered for quite a while. It wasn't long before the pitter-patter of six feet came after it. Victoria's face flushed with anger as she stood up to meet the trio.

"Oh, good! She stopped!" Shock's voice was clear once she came into view with her two other friends. Victoria marched toward them. She snatched up the pitchfork and held it threateningly at their noses. To her surprise, they didn't back down or cower like she thought they would. Nonetheless, she planned to give them a good tell-off.

"What," Victoria asked, "in the world were you thinking?" The pitchfork shook dangerously in her grasp. Lock grabbed the handle from Victoria and pulled, making her almost lose her balance and let go. He held his weapon of choice by his side.

"Well, we wanted you to stop. So, we just threw a pitchfork at you!" Lock said. Barrel and Shock nodded like evil versions of bobble head dolls, grinning widely at Victoria mischievously. Victoria didn't return the favor.

"It could've stopped my heart if it'd hit me! What'd you want my help for anyway?" A little bit of the red had faded from her cheeks now, and her breathing was now deep and even. The devil, witch, and skeleton smiled evilly.

"You see, we like to play practical jokes on people," Lock explained. He twirled his pitchfork nonchalantly in his hand, and then suddenly pretended to jab Victoria with it. She flinched. The devil laughed with glee, making the red in her face return.

"Do you ever do that?" Barrel asked the girl, licking his lollipop. Victoria shook her head.

"No. That's vile and cruel, and it doesn't say much about the pranksters," Victoria said maturely, though it just bounced off the masks that the children wore. They giggled, failing to stifle their laughter.

"Well," Shock said loftily, "We don't. And for this prank, we need a diversion." All three of them grinned and stared intently at Victoria. Victoria laughed, shaking her head.

"No. Ooooh, no. I don't do things like that. Besides, how are you going to make me?" Victoria questioned with a smirk. Instantly, the children whipped out the pitchfork, broom, and plunger that they used for their weapons. Sinking slightly in posture, Victoria gulped.

* * *

Grudgingly, Victoria asked, "What's the plan?" Lock pointed to the window in the castle-like house, tossing a rock up and down in his other.

"You," he explained, "are going to take the rock and throw it at the window. Then you'll hide in here so he won't see you." The devil lifted up a branch of a thick, spidery bush and then let it swing back into place.

"What're you all going to do then?" Victoria inquired.

"While he goes outside to see who did it, we're gonna go inside and mess up his equipment!" Barrel whispered happily. Victoria looked confused.

"Equipment? Does he play sports?" she asked. The three burst out in laughter.

"No! He's a scientist! Now, hurry, throw the rock!" Shock laughed as Lock handed Victoria the stone. Victoria casually tossed it into the air and caught it, feeling the bumpy sharpness of its edges.

"I don't know," she trailed off.

"Just do it!" the trio screeched. Startled, Victoria threw the rock as hard and as fast as she could, hitting the top most window in the center and shattering the glass. The castle began to rumble violently. Victoria and the kids stood stock still in a sort of terrified awe, watching each of the windows break in turn with an ear-splitting noise.

A furious roar was heard from inside the castle.

"Run for it!" Lock, Shock, and Barrel said simultaneously. They scampered away, and Victoria followed. They got far enough that the mechanical buzzing coming for them faded after a few minutes. Panting and tired, they all collapsed on the stairs of the town hall, gasping for breath and laughing slightly.

"That…that thing in their? Dr. Finkleberg or whatever? He sure can scream," Victoria laughed between breaths.

"He's done worse," Shock said. Soon, their breath was back and they were all sitting upright. They began to talk about the pranks they'd done in the past, and Victoria listened patiently and curiously. In this world, there didn't seem to be much discipline at all. At least, she thought so.

A stout shadow was blocking out the pumpkin-shaped sun (which had risen a while ago), engulfing the quartet. Victoria looked up and beheld a strange, disturbing sight. What looked like a grey, mutant duck with goggles and buck teeth sat in a wheelchair in front of her, clutching the throttle and growling menacingly.

"Dr. Finklestein!" Shock screamed. The children ran away quickly, but Victoria stayed and looked him in the eye. His wheelchair moaned as it stopped, and then Dr. Finklestein began to speak.

"So," he said menacingly, "So. You're the prankster who broke all the windows in my house?" Victoria raised an eyebrow and calmly shook her head.

"I believe you have the wrong person," she said aloofly. Dr. Finklestein was taken aback for the slightest second, and then he opened up his hinged head and scratched his purple brain, much to the disgust of Victoria.

"Must've been those three hooligans then; my apologies," the scientist mumbled gruffly. Mechanical whirring noises came from his wheelchair as he left, still muttering about young people's tomfoolery. Victoria was left alone on the steps of town hall.

Head in hands, she contemplated what to do next. She needed to find a way out of here; that was for sure. How was she going to do that? All the graveyards in Halloween Town would take ages to go through and search, and that was more time than she had.

"Excuse me?" a calm, male voice interrupted Victoria's hopeless thoughts.

"What?" she snapped. She looked up to see a tall, towering skeleton in a pinstriped suit lean over her. His bat-like bow tie almost scraped her nose as he bent down to her level, and the tails of his tuxedo trailed along the steps. The skeleton paused for a second. Then he opened his bony mouth to speak to her.

"Your outfit is quite lovely. Did Sally make it?" the skeleton inquired. Victoria shook her head.

"No. Who's she?" Victoria asked, getting up. As she rose, the skeleton got up too. She saw that he was quite tall for a skeleton and felt a bit intimidated under his shadow. Nonetheless, she tried to keep a confident air.

"And who are you?" she questioned him. The skeleton laughed heartily, amused by the girl's moxie.

"Why, you must be new here. I'm the Pumpkin King, Jack Skelllington. Sally is a young lady I know who is quite skilled with the needle and thread. I thought she might have made your outfit," Jack explained. Victoria nodded in slight understanding.

"Pumpkin King," she repeated, "Does that mean you own this place?"

Jack shook his head and said, "Not quite. That would be the Mayor's job." One of Victoria's eyebrows went down and the other lifted.

"So, hold on," Victoria said, puzzled, "You are a king, but a mayor runs the town?" Her fingers went wildly in directions as she tried to illustrate the concept. Jack laughed again.

"Why don't you come inside?" he asked, holding the door open for her, "You obviously have a lot to learn about Halloween Town." Victoria hesitated for a second, and then walked in the door.

"Okay, Jack. I'm ready to learn."

* * *

**Musically: _So? What do you think of Jack?_**

**Victoria: _He's made out of bones. What am I supposed to think?_**

**Jack: (crestfallen) _Hey!_**


	4. Preparations

**Musically: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I don't really have a plan laid out for the next few chapters, except for the fact that it wlil follow most of the events in the movie. So, if you have any requests, it'd be good to let me know. I really appreciate the support!**

**Victoria: You people. I'm still stuck here, don't you realize that?**

**Jack: (sniffle) I'm more than just BONES, you know!**

* * *

Initially, Victoria noticed that the town hall looked rather like a theatre. Seats that looked like church pews were set up in neat little rows along the floor, facing the dusty stage at the far end of the room. Lights stood unused on the rafters. Victoria could almost picture stagehands putting a spotlight on the speaker on the stage, where she saw a tall podium. With more observation, she spotted a tree in the back of the room.

While Victoria took all of this in, Jack dragged in a large green-and-red striped bag that she had failed to notice before. It made an odd scraping noise as it was pulled. Victoria got out of Jack's way and ran up to the stage. She ambled around it, walking amongst the dust and dirt on the floor and occasionally getting caught in cobwebs that housed large, creepy spiders that snapped their impressive mandibles at her. Finally she came to a stopping point at the edge, sitting down and dangling her feet over.

"Someone really should clean this place up," Victoria told Jack.

The skeleton nodded, and replied, "We haven't had any use for it in a long time. Besides, many of the citizens don't believe that a clean environment is the best to live in, you know. You know what else? I never caught your name."

"You never asked. It's Victoria," she stated. Jack nodded.

"Victoria," Jack repeated, trying out the word for himself. It had a nice ring to it, an old fashioned air that was still modern in a way. He liked it. "That's a nice name." Victoria shrugged her shoulders but secretly appreciated his kindness.

"Lock, Shock, and Barrel didn't seem to care for it as much," she told him. Jack looked up from the bag he was pulling.

"Funny," he said, "You don't look like the type that would consort with them." Victoria's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"No, I think I learned that we're different," she said quickly.

Jack shrugged as he struggled to bring his sack up a ramp that led to the platform. The sound of glass breaking met both of their ears as he reached a bump in the walkway, and Jack cringed as he brought the bag up all the way.

"That'll be an ornament," he whispered as he began to untie it. Interested, Victoria got up. She strolled around the perimeter of the bulging sack until she came to a stop right beside the skeleton.

"Ornaments? I didn't know that was a part of Halloween," Victoria told Jack. He looked up at her for a minute, and then returned to the string tied 'round the bag (he had tied it a little too tightly).

Almost guiltily, he muttered, "It's not." Victoria was taken slightly aback. Still, Jack seemed to overcome this awkward moment quickly as he untied the knot and opened the sack. Curiously, Victoria peered inside. Glittering baubles of red, green, silver, and blue bobbed up from the depths of the bag, and underneath she could see bristling evergreen needles. Silver and gold tinsel intertwined with each other fancily. The tinsel, as Victoria could see, was wrapped around the green branches in a spiraling fashion.

Happily, Jack removed the items from the bag while humming a tune. Victoria stared at him, dumbstruck. All the other citizens around here that she had seen- they had seemed so into the Halloween spirit, but Jack? Here he was, unloading a Christmas tree!

"What are you humming? Is that…is that 'Frosty the Snowman?!" Victoria asked incredulously. Jack, who was straightening the branches on the tree, stopped dead in his tracks (excuse the pun). Slowly, he pivoted around on the spot and faced her with one eye socket almost closed in suspicion.

"Yes, it is," Jack said cautiously, "How did you know?" Victoria laughed.

"Are you joking? That's got to be one of the most well known Christmas carols there is," she said, now starting to help him unload some of the ornaments. Jack's blank stare turned into one of immense rapture. He bounded over to her and took her by the shoulders, facing her head-to-head and managing to startle her quite a lot.

"What're you doing?" Victoria asked. Jack's grip on her shoulders seemed to be cold even with her vest and shirt. Jack chuckled quietly, unable to believe his luck.

Happily, he questioned, "Do you actually know about Christmas?" Victoria leaned back a bit and nodded. Jack's grasp on her tightened once and then released, and he started to jump around in a sort of happy dance, laughing loudly now. Victoria looked on in confusion.

Jack swung around the Christmas tree, and then faced Victoria again.

"So, you know about presents? Stockings? Candy canes? You can sing Christmas carols and tie bows and make snowmen and- do you write to Sandy Claws?" Jack rambled on ecstatically. Victoria smiled slightly, not wanting to admit that she had written to Santa Claus since she was three.

"Yes, Jack, I do all of that at Christmas! Everyone does. Don't you?" she asked. The smile was wiped off of Jack's face. Without a word, he walked to the red and green bag (which was still bursting with Christmas memorabilia) and retrieved a snow globe from its depths. He shook it once, and then twice with his bony fingers, making the white particles inside soar in the water and drift down onto a winter scene. He looked at it bemusedly, yet sadly.

Victoria tried to say something but couldn't. Jack laid the snow globe on a nearby table and heaved out a sigh, watching the last of the snowflakes fall.

"No," he stated, "We don't." Jack turned away from the snow globe and returned to his Christmas tree, looking away from Victoria's questioning eyes. He fondled a strand of tinsel between his fingertips. The silver and gold would never go over well with the townspeople; he was sure. However, if he could just explain it to them, then maybe, just maybe they'd understand…

"Jack?" Victoria asked. Snapped away from his thoughts, Jack swiveled around quickly. "If the other Halloween Town citizens don't know about Christmas, how come you do?" The smile came back onto his face as he remembered that magical visit to Christmas town.

"Well," Jack began, "I have recently discovered that there are different holidays besides Halloween! Can you believe that?" Victoria raised an eyebrow.

"I know it might be difficult to understand, trust me," Jack said, "but there are actually portals in the middle of the woods to different holidays! I went into Christmas Town, and I must confess, it was wonderful."

"There was white stuff everywhere, falling from the sky! It all collected on the ground and the children threw it at each other, and sculpted it, and made angelic shapes in it!"

"Snow?"

"Yes, that's it. Then I saw them skating on frozen water with specialized shoes that had blades on them. They were having great fun."

"That's called ice skating."

"That's right! Next, I noticed that they were baking cookies and making toys. The people who did all of this were very small, smaller than me or you and they had pointed ears and looked jolly."

"Wow, I didn't know elves existed."

"Elves, that's what they were. You're quite good at this, aren't you? Anyways, Christmas Town was so amazing; I just couldn't believe my eye sockets! The thing is, no one in Halloween Town has seen what Christmas is like except for me and you. I thought if I showed them how Christmas worked, they'd think it was fun!" Jack said enthusiastically.

Victoria was unsure about the whole thing. Could monsters, vampires, and witches really learn to love Christmas? Nevertheless, she nodded.

"They might," she said. Jack laughed as he put began to put presents under the tree. Red and gold paper glistened under the dim lighting and put Victoria in the slightest holiday spirit. Jack was certainly going about the whole Christmas thing better than the people in her world were. In Halloween Town, there were no sale signs, no loudspeakers, and no dancing Santa Clauses.

"Of course they will!" Jack told her, "And you are going to help me tell them about it!"

Victoria gave Jack a perplexed look.

"I am?" she asked.

"You bet! With my spirit and your knowledge, we'll have Halloween Town converted in no time at all! Now here, help me with this stocking. I can't wait for the town meeting tonight!" Jack said excitedly.

Nervously, Victoria added, "Yeah. Me either."

* * *

**Musically: Ooh. You don't get stage fright, do you, Victoria?**

**Victoria: (scowls) No. I just don't want to talk about Christmas in front of monsters.**

**Jack: (sobs) We have more than what's just on the outside!!**


	5. A Duet at the Town Meeting

**Chapter Five: A Duet at the Town Meeting

* * *

**

**Disclaimer: _I guess I'll put another one of these on here, since there's a song in this chapter. The music is the genius masterpiece of Danny Elfman and does not belong to me in any way. But oh how I wish it did. _**

**Musically: _Okay, Victoria. It's your big night. Are you pumped? Are you in the zone?_**

**Victoria: _(glares) Get away from me. _**

**Jack: _(has recovered, and looks on interestedly) This meeting should be interesting, no?_**

**Victoria: _NO! _**

* * *

****

The rest of the afternoon was spent setting up the Christmas scene that would be on display on the stage. As Jack grew more and more ecstatic, Victoria became nervous. The lights seemed to burn down on her as the sky outside grew darker through the glassy windows, shining accusingly towards her small figure.

"Jack?" Victoria asked quietly. Jack made a mumbling noise in response; he was busy putting a blanket around the base of the tree to prevent pine needles from falling on the floor. After he had accomplished this task, he stood up and stretched his bony limbs.

"Yes, what is it?" Jack replied loftily. Victoria looked at the ground, reluctant to meet his gleeful expression.

"I don't know if I can talk to them. What if I don't explain it right? What if they don't like me? What if- what if they throw rotten FOOD at me?" Victoria sailed into a bombardment of "what if's" and made Jack quite confused and dizzy. He tapped her once on the shoulder. The coldness of his bones caused her to inhale sharply, and then she looked at him distressingly.

"I'm not ready," she said miserably. Jack laughed and shook his skull. Victoria glared up at him resentfully and crossed her arms on top of her chest. "And I don't think it's that funny, either." Jack wiped an imaginary tear out of his eye socket and then bent down to Victoria's level to talk with her. She looked away childishly.

"I merely find amusement in the fact that you think the people here are all horrible and vile! Are all humans like this?" he asked bemusedly.

Victoria glanced over her shoulder and said, "Well, it's hard to think otherwise when we've heard stories like that all our lives." Jack looked at the ceiling and then back at Victoria with a sympathetic expression.

"Of course, I should have guessed. I believe I was once human as well, but my memory mostly faded away when I came to Halloween Town," Jack reminisced as he rose back up. Victoria unfolded her arms and looked up at him.

"Victoria, I won't force you to speak in front of my friends," Jack said consentingly, "But I think it they might grasp it more easily if I had help. Are you sure you're not ready?" A sickening sense of guilt came over Victoria. She realized that most of the monsters must be like Jack; how could she ever be afraid of them?

Nodding slowly, Victoria got to her feet and replied, "I guess I am ready, Jack. You convinced me." A smile spread across his skull and a similar once danced across her lips.

"Glad you're ready," Jack said excitedly, "Because they're here!" His index finger was aimed squarely at the locked door, and Victoria could hear several voices squabbling outside the wall. Her stomach hit the floor. Jack's bony hand tugged on the tassel that held the curtains open, letting the heavy fabric fall into place. Victoria quickly got out of the way. Jack strode over down the aisle to let the citizens in, and Victoria retreated to behind the black curtains.

"Welcome, fellow citizens! I have a real treat for you all tonight, so please, take a seat and we'll get started in just a few moments," Jack announced. Wild cheers came from the townspeople as they scattered about to find a seat with a good view of the stage. The general noise of conversation filled the room. The air was thick with anticipation and wonder, and whispers grew into loud voices as the wait continued. Jack disappeared behind the curtain.

Victoria gasped as Jack whispered, "Boo!" behind her.

Clutching a hand to her heart, Victoria muttered, "You're going to kill me if you don't stop scaring me." Jack snickered.

"That would be so much more fitting, though, wouldn't it?" he laughed. Victoria scowled murderously. With an icy shove, she was forced onto the stage with Jack trailing behind her. She gasped unwillingly in a kind of excited horror.

Demons, werewolves, mummies, and corpses lined the rows of seats that lay before Victoria. Everything that she had been taught to fear was sitting in front of her, cheering her on. Strangely, she felt flattered. They were clapping for her! Her moment of pride was interrupted by Jack, who now took center stage.

"Friends," Jack said loudly, "Before I begin, I'd like to introduce you to a very special girl I met earlier today. Her name is Victoria, and she will be helping me to make this presentation. Let's all give her a warm, Halloween Town welcome!" The crowd applauded raucously and Victoria felt herself blush.

"Thank you!" she said, stunned. After the applause faded, Jack took his place at the podium, and Victoria stood beside it faithfully. The spotlight flashed on, making several bats take wing and fly across the room. Victoria squinted as her dark green eyes readjusted to the bright, blinding limelight, making the audience almost completely disappear into darkness.

Jack cleared his throat and then began, "Listen, everyone! I want to tell you about Christmas Town." Excited murmurs came from the crowd as Jack drifted across the stage, away from his podium and going towards the center of the stage. To Victoria's surprise, he started to sing.

"_There are objects so peculiar; they are not to be believed! All around, things to tantalize my brain. Victoria?" _Jack stopped his song, clearly wanting Victoria to add on. She shot him a look that fully read, 'Are you crazy?', but he nodded his head anxiously. She sighed and cleared her throat as well.

"_It's a world unlike anything you've ever seen! And as hard as I try, I might not be able to describe all the parts of this Christmas scene," _Victoria sang in a smooth alto voice.Almost like magic, the curtains were flung open to reveal the Christmas tree and fake fireplace, both of which were lit and bright. A collective gasp rose from the audience as they took in the sight.

In an undertone, Victoria whispered, "How was that?"

"It was wonderful," Jack replied, "I didn't know you could sing!"

As they faced the crowd, they sang together, "_But you must believe when we tell you this." _

_"It's as real as my skull!"_

_"And it does exist," _Victoria finished. Jack strolled over to the Christmas tree, bent down, and picked up the red and gold present. He returned to center stage, handing the gift to Victoria.

"_This is a thing called a present," _she explained, "_And the whole thing starts off with a box." _She held it out so the audience could get a clear view of the scarlet cube. To her astonishment, she heard voices calling out from the seats of the restless citizens.

"_A box?"_

_"Is it steel?"_

_"Are there locks?"_

_"Is it filled with a pox?"_

_"A pox, how delightful! A pox." _Jack broke in at this point.

"_If you please," _he said, and the voices stopped. He took the present from Victoria and held it up into the air, where the paper shone like a burning red star.

"_Just a box with bright colored paper," _he mused, "_And the whole thing's topped off with a bow!" _Jack plucked the golden ribbon, and it puffed up for a second before deflating again. Shockingly (to Victoria), two witches flew up to the stage, circling Jack and her while in midair.

"_A bow?"_

_"But why?"_

_"How ugly!"_

_"What's in it? What's in it?" _they shouted, closing in on the present.

Victoria, who was becoming annoyed, snatched the gift away from them, singing, "_That's the point of the thing, not to know!" _With a haughty look, the witches sailed back into their seats. Random guesses began to pour from the crowd.

_"It's a bat!"_

_"Will it bend?"_

_"It's a rat!"_

_"Will it break?"_

_"Perhaps it's the head that I found in the lake." _

Jack shook his head and said, "_Listen, now! You don't understand."_

_"That's not the point of Christmas Land," _Victoria explained, casting a worried look towards Jack. He seemed to ignore it and headed over to the fireplace, reaching for a fur-trimmed stocking that dangled over the fireplace. With a barely audible sigh, Victoria followed.

"_Now, pay attention," _Jack announced. The audience was silent, waiting for the next discovery. Jack held up the stocking proudly, and Victoria watched on.

_"Now we pick up an oversized sock-"_

_"Stocking." _

_"And hang it like this on the wall." _Jack pressed the stocking against the fake rocks of the fireplace, imitating the others that hung safely on hooks. Amazingly, a Mr. Hyde replica appeared beside the two of them, letting tiny clones of himself burst out of his top hat.

"_Oh, yes! Does it still have a foot?"_

_"Let me see. Let me look!"_

_"Is it all rotted and covered with gook?" _

Victoria shook her head and relieved Jack of the stocking. Defeated, Mr. Hyde took his seat once again.

"_Um, let **me **explain," _she said, spilling out the contents of the stocking into her hand, _"There's no foot inside, but there's candy! Sometimes it's even filled with small toys." _Again, the audience added their commentary.

_"Small toys?"_

_"Do they bite?"_

_"Do they snap?" _

_"Or explode in a sack?"_

_"Perhaps they just spring out and scare girls and boys!" _

Another, unfamiliar voice came from the rafters of the town hall. Looking up, Victoria spotted a stout, fat man dressed in black and a top hat operating the spotlight, a toothy grin showing on his peachy, cone-like face. A red ribbon on his chest showed that he was the mayor Jack had talked about.

_"What a splendid idea! This Christmas sounds fun. I fully endorse it; let's try it at once!" _the mayor agreed excitedly. Victoria noticed his face swivel around to a blue, worried expression as he threatened to fall over the rafter. She looked back at the audience, shaking her head.

"_Everyone, please now! Not so fast. There's something here you don't quite grasp!" _Victoria said pleadingly.

Jack rested a bony palm on her shoulder (making her shiver) and whispered in her ear, "Well, we may as well give them what they want." Victoria stayed behind as Jack took center stage once again, sweeping his arms out wide to draw attention to himself. In a nearly frightening whisper, Jack addressed the audience.

_"The best, I must confess, I have saved for the last, for the ruler of this Christmas Land is a fearsome king with a deep, mighty voice! At least, that's what I've come to understand." _

At this point, Jack had hopped off the stage and was now walking among the seats. The spotlight had drifted off of Victoria, now following Jack like a sort of weird puppy. Engrossed in Jack's solo, Victoria listened.

_"I've also heard it told that he's something to behold! Like a lobster, huge and red. When he sets out to slay with his rain gear on, carting bulging sacks with his great big arms, that is, so I've heard it said," _Jack sang dramatically, using his slender limbs to illustrate the monstrosity he was explaining. Victoria had now begun to put two and two together…who was this that he was singing about? It didn't sound like it had anything to do with Christmas.

With a giant leap, Jack landed back on stage, and the spotlight blinded Victoria yet again.

"_On a dark, cold night, under full moonlight, he flies into a fog like a vulture in the sky!" _Jack sang frightfully as he danced across the stage. Victoria realized something. Slay and rain gear sounded suspiciously like sleigh…and reindeer! He was talking about Santa Claus, but he had a completely wrong idea. Or did he?

Jack's voice lowered dangerously for his finale, "_And they call him Sandy Claws!" _A blood red light darkened Jack's face, and he contorted his expression into a wicked grin. Soon the normal light returned, and Jack took a bow. The crowd went wild. No sooner had the song ended than the crowd began to flood out the door, their heads filled with the new idea of Christmas.

After they were all gone, Jack hung his head and returned to the Christmas scene with Victoria following. The skeleton grabbed the snow globe and shook it once again, letting the snow fall onto the landscape enclosed in the glass ball. Victoria saw a troubled frown on his skull.

"_At least they're excited," _she sang softly.

"_But they don't understand," _he replied. Their voices joined together in a quiet harmony.

"_That special kind of feeling in Christmas Land." _

Victoria and Jack looked at each other for a moment, and then Jack turned away. He walked over to the tree, which now looked forgotten and cold in the dim lighting of the town hall. The pair began to remove the ornaments and lights from the tree and placed them into the sack carefully. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Jack looked at Victoria and spoke.

"You don't have anywhere to stay, do you?" Jack inquired. Reality hit Victoria like a brick. The sickening feeling of being stuck in Halloween Town settled inside of her once more, and she nodded forlornly.

"No," she answered bitterly, shoving some tinsel in the bag. Jack held up the bag so the tinsel gently slid inside.

"You know," he said quietly, "You could always stay in my guest room. It hasn't been used in a while though, so it could be a little dusty." Victoria laughed in disbelief, surprised that her luck had turned around that quickly.

"Are you…are you serious?" she asked hopefully. Jack's smile returned and he nodded. Victoria returned the grin and answered, "You bet! Thank you, so, so much!" The girl dashed over and caught the skeleton in a hug, ignoring the icy coldness of his touch.

And for once in a long time, Jack felt the emptiness inside fill up a little.

* * *

**Musically: _(cries) This is the sweetest thing I've ever written._**

**Victoria/Jack: _Shut up!_**


	6. Behind Locked Doors

**Musically: (_puts Victoria and Jack in a soundproof room) There. Now I can answer my fan mail! This review comes from WhittyWerewolf. Whitty writes,_**_ "Great story so far! I'm a sucker for TNBC songs. But I want to know if Jack and Victoria are going to have a romantic relationship. I'm all for Jack/Sally, are you? You mentioned Sally, but still..." _

**_You should be pleased to know that Jack and Sally will be together (how could it be any different?) and that I have a different love interest planned for Victoria in later fanfics. And as for the singing, I assure you, there will be more. _**

**_ Lastly, I apologize for the extreme boringness of this chapter. It is just leading up to the next chapter, which has another duet in it. Hoorah! _**

**Jack/Victoria: _Hey...she locked the door!_**

* * *

Jack and Victoria walked down the cobblestone road, making polite conversation as they went. Victoria listened to Jack's stories of Halloween Town and was instantly hooked on the many different kinds of monsters that traveled to live there. There were mummies from Egypt and sea creatures from Scotland. According to Jack, the Skellington family was the first of their kind to immigrate to Halloween Town. He, in fact, came from a long line of Pumpkin Kings and Queens and intended to pass the role down to his offspring. Victoria laughed.

"Does that mean you've found someone special, Jack?" Victoria teased. Sticking his hands in his pockets, Jack shrugged. The moonlight struck his skull at an odd angle, making his expression suddenly look forlorn and melancholy.

"No, not quite yet," Jack told her. Victoria pondered this for a minute. There certainly weren't a lot of girls in Halloween Town, as far as she had seen, that would be of any interest to Jack. However, a mental image came to mind. Victoria had seen her at the town meeting: an average sized young woman with blue skin. Silky, long red hair flowed down to her waist, Victoria remembered, and she wore a slightly tattered patchwork dress. The more Victoria thought about her, the more she recalled.

This lady had taken a seat in the tree at the back of the room, away from all of the fuss up in front. She had seemed very interested in the Christmas concept. Victoria also saw her face fall when Jack's finale became terrifying. Speaking of her face, it was very expressive; her large, prominent eyes gave her a permanently surprised look, and black, thick eyelashes lined her eyelids. Her lips were a rose red, and her mouth was made of stitches.

"There was a girl I saw," Victoria noted, "That looked rather nice to me. I didn't get her name, but she was like a rag doll with long, red hair. Sound familiar?" Jack shook his head at first but then smacked a bony hand to his forehead.

"Ah, yes! I know who you're talking about. Her name is Sally," Jack explained, "The one who's so good with sewing." Victoria nodded in understanding. Then Jack laughed quietly.

"I don't know, though. Sally and I, a couple?" Jack pondered, "I can't even remember the last time we've spoken to each other." His companion shrugged.

Reassuringly, she said, "Don't worry. I bet there's someone out there for old Jack Skellington."

Before Jack could say anything back, a large, castle-like house appeared over the grey horizon. A bony finger pointed it out for Victoria, telling her that this was his house.

"Hey, Jack," Victoria said, "Have you ever heard the saying, "Mi casa es tu casa?" Jack gave her a puzzled expression.

"No, I'm sorry. I don't speak French."

Victoria sighed, half in annoyance and half in amusement. Despite Jack's slight naivety, she felt her spirits rising as the tower loomed above. The old, grey house was constructed from stone that was not unlike the ones at the graveyard she had visited earlier, and a large iron gate barred the entrance to his home. A sense of familiarity drifted about Victoria's mind. Ignoring it, she strode over to the gate, where Jack was trying to unlock the door.

Jack pushed a silvery key through the lock and twisted, and in no time at all the door swung open. A horrible creaking noise bounced around in Victoria's ears.

"Sorry about that. I haven't been home in a while, it seems," Jack apologized. After the racket faded, Victoria shrugged.

"It's not a big deal," she muttered as she drew closer to the large, winding staircase that led to Jack's door. He went first. The steps were no problem for his long, spindly legs, as he easily glided over them like a spider on a web. Victoria followed slowly afterwards, tripping often and losing her balance. Soon, Jack had to pull her up to the top.

"Perhaps you should take up mountain climbing?" he laughed, offering a hand to help her up. Victoria felt a sting of cold as the skeleton helped her up to the top and scowled at him.

"You could at least put a railing on the side," she mumbled, "It'd be safer then."

"Ah, but what would be the fun in that?" Jack asked jokingly as he held the door open for Victoria. She entered readily, keen on seeing the home of the famous Jack Skellington. Needless to say, it met her expectations. Numerous family heirlooms filled the rooms, and pictures of the present and past Pumpkin Kings were hung upon the walls, displayed proudly for all to see.

Apologetically, Jack muttered, "It really is a bit cluttered, isn't it? Perhaps I should clean up more."

"I think it's great! Look at all this neat stuff!" Victoria exclaimed. She was now exploring the different bric-a-brac that lay around the different rooms, being careful not to touch anything that looked fragile or like a potential health hazard.

From the kitchen, Jack called, "The guest room is upstairs, if you'd like to look!" Victoria took his advice and quickly scurried up the winding staircase (this time careful not to trip). When she entered the loft, she could see three doors, each brown, tall, and identical.

"Which one is it, Jack?" she shouted.

"The one on the right!" he replied loudly. Eagerly, Victoria flung open the door. The sight that lay before her shocked her, but pleased her all the same. The room was completely decked out in orange, black, purple, and red, and picture frames and old books lined the shelves that rested against the walls. A twin sized bed had been placed in the middle of the room. The headboard was shaped like the silhouette of a flying bat, and the quilt that adorned the mattress was a complicated orange and black pattern.

It wasn't until now that Victoria's feet began to feel very sore. The bed suddenly looked very alluring and comfortable, so she kicked off her shoes and walked over to the head of the bed. Carefully, she lifted the quilt back a little so she could squeeze in. Victoria was getting in the bed carefully, relishing in the coolness of the blankets and sheets. It wasn't long before she was completely tucked into the bed, lost in a world of dreams away from Halloween Town.

"Victoria?" called a quiet voice, "Victoria?" Jack tiptoed over to the guest room and pushed the door open slightly, revealing a sleeping Victoria nestled under the covers. Smiling, Jack turned off the lights.

"Good night," he whispered, and closed the door.

* * *

Victoria's green eyes fluttered open as she heard Jack's voice calling from down the hall. She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep.

"Victoria, wake up! We need to make a visit today," he yelled up to her. Groggily, she lifted herself up off of the pillow, rubbing her eyes in an effort to stay awake. Her bare feet touched the cold floor below. She shivered slightly and then walked over to the door that was on the other side of the room. A pale right hand reached out to the gold doorknob, taking it firmly and twisting slowly until the door opened with a creaking noise not unlike the cry of a dying frog.

Cringing slightly, Victoria waited until the sound faded. She then stepped lightly onto the floor, which felt hard but smoother than the bedroom's. Her fingers groped around blindly for a light switch, and it took about two minutes for her to find one. She pushed the lever up. Immediately, the room was flooded with light, allowing her to see that this was a bathroom.

The walls were painted a bright orange. Victoria could see her bedraggled reflection in the mirror that stretched across the wall that was opposite her, and the counters below the glass were made of black marble. A fresh toothbrush was laid out for her. Mint-flavored "Fang" brand toothpaste was sitting, fully filled and inflated, beside it and on the other side laid a black hairbrush. Victoria smiled and gratefully began to prepare herself for the visit.

A muted sound came from the stairway, alerting Jack to Victoria's approach.

"Ah, Victoria! I see you found the brushes and things," he said. Victoria nodded cheerily and waited by the front door for Jack to lead the way. The skeleton shot her a confused look.

"What're you doing?" he asked from in the kitchen, "I've made breakfast." Victoria suddenly realized that she was very, very hungry, and her stomach growled right on cue. She half walked, half ran into the kitchen to get some food. A hissing noise came from the stove, and the scent of eggs wafted towards Victoria's sniffing nose.

"Oh, you've made eggs!" Victoria said rapturously as Jack shifted them onto a plate. He set the steaming eggs in front of her and gave her a silver fork that was engraved with a skull near the top. "And is this the nice silverware you're using?"

Jack mumbled something about not getting visitors that often, and then he said, "Go ahead and eat; it's very delicious." Victoria obliged happily, instantly shoving a forkful of fried eggs into her mouth. The taste of the egg whites was zesty and full of spice, and it made her reach around for a glass of water in no time at all. After she drank the refreshing beverage, she started in on the yolk. The yellow center was strangely sweet and gooey, reminding her of a kind of lemon pie she had once tasted. In a matter of minutes, both Victoria and Jack had finished their meals and were ready to go.

"Were those normal eggs, or was that just a secret recipe?" Victoria inquired. Jack held the door open for her as she stepped out.

"No, those were Amazonian python eggs. Exotic, I know, but that new batch I bought had a nice kick to it, didn't you think?" he replied. Victoria felt her stomach begin to churn, but she nodded faintly and headed to the gate.

With a quick turn of a key, Victoria and Jack were out amongst the citizens of Halloween Town once more. Many of them stopped to congratulate them on last night's performance, but Jack said he couldn't be bothered right now and plowed through the crowds. Victoria pursued him in the thickness of the cloud of monsters.

"Jack?" Victoria asked, "Who exactly are we going to visit?" The skeleton didn't turn around, but he replied to her question in a soft voice.

"Dr. Finklestein. I need to see if he will lend me some of his science equipment. Have you met him yet?" he wondered. Victoria nodded her head even though Jack wouldn't see.

"Yes, we have," Victoria said, remembering his furious face quite vividly. They walked in silence for the rest of the trip, which was good; Victoria had a hard enough time with keeping up with Jack, much less carrying on a conversation. Soon, they had reached the lab of Dr. Finklestein. Victoria noticed that someone had replaced every single window, and she felt slightly relieved at the fact that now she wouldn't have to pay for them.

Jack walked confidently over to the front door, pasting a large smile on his face. He rapped the door several times with his bony hands.

A cracking, pain-racked voice from inside irritably shouted, "The door is open!" Jack pushed the door lightly, and it swung open to reveal a large kitchen. Wooden cabinets full of pots and ingredients were suspended over a counter and sink, and a large, pewter cauldron had been pushed to the wall. A long, spiraling ramp led to the second floor. Victoria looked up, and to her disgust, could see Dr. Finklestein himself looking down on them. Jack hadn't seemed to notice him.

"Hello?" he called. Dr. Finklestein took his eyes off of Victoria and looked at Jack with a pleasant expression.

"Jack Skellington? Up here, my boy!" he called welcomingly. Victoria stared at him until a cold prod from Jack told her that she needed to head up the ramp. Reluctantly, she obeyed. Jack's quick step and long strides brought him to the doctor quickly, while her slow steps rivaled that of a snail.

"Doctor, I need to borrow some equipment," Jack announced, waving an arm in the air to greet him. Dr. Finklestein squinted up at him from behind the thick goggles. Victoria finally reached the loft, glad to find Dr. Finklestein and Jack deep in conversation and too busy to pay attention to her.

"Is that so? Whatever for?" Dr. Finklestein asked interestedly.

"I'm conducting a series of experiments."

"How perfectly marvelous! Curiosity killed the cat, you know."

"I know."

"Come on in to my lab; I have just what you need." The scientist started leading Jack to his laboratory. Jack began to follow, but then looked back at Victoria. She shook her head and motioned for him to go. He shrugged, turned around, and followed the noise of the wheelchair until he was out of Victoria's sight.

Sighing with relief, Victoria slumped against a nearby wall. She had decided that Dr. Finklestein was one citizen of Halloween Town that she did not care for at all. Even so, his house was pretty interesting. Several gadgets and knick-knacks lay around the floor, metallically shining in the dusty light that shone in from the window. Victoria, wanting to amuse herself, followed the trail of gizmos.

The path wound throughout the castle. She passed large generators, weird machines, and a little hunchback who called for his master piteously. In the end, the trail of gadgets ended at a large door that looked rather like a large, silver bank vault. A large wheel was mounted in the center of the door.

Victoria tested it. She tugged at the wheel, which spun easily but didn't unlock the door. To her surprise, she heard bedsprings creak and footsteps coming closer to the door.

A gentle, feminine voice coming from inside asked, "Dr. Finklestein? Is that you?" Victoria tried unsuccessfully to hide a snort.

"Far from," she replied, "Who's in there?"

"My name is Sally. Who are you? Your voice sounds awfully familiar," Sally observed. Victoria stared at the door as if she was trying to see the lady behind it.

"I'm Victoria. I was at the town meeting, remember?" she told Sally, still clutching the wheel. On the inside, Sally nodded, but then remembered that Victoria couldn't see her.

"Yes, I do. You were quite good, and Christmas sounds like fun…though that last part was a bit, well, um," Sally broke off. She couldn't find a tactful word for Jack's unsettling finale.

"You thought so too? He told me he was giving the crowd what they wanted then."

"That would explain a lot, wouldn't it? It's not exactly what I wanted, though."

"Trust me, he didn't mean that last part. Hey, Sally?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you locked up in here?"

"Oh!" Sally had forgotten that she was trapped. She wistfully ran a blue finger across the steel door.

"Well, Dr. Finklestein put me in here for trying to poison him…for the third time this month."

"Ha!" Victoria laughed. The old man had gotten a taste of his own medicine, it seemed. "Good for you!" Sally tried hard to stifle a giggle. Suddenly, the sound of Dr. Finklestein and Jacks' voices met her ears.

"Sally, Jack and Dr. Finklestein are coming," she said urgently.

"Oh, you'd better go! There's no telling how much trouble the both of us will be in if he catches us talking." Victoria turned to leave, but Sally had one last request.

"Victoria? Are you still there?"

Hurriedly, she replied, "Yes!"

"Please don't tell Jack. I feel like a child in time-out, and that embarrasses me to no end."

"Don't worry about a thing, Sally! Catch you later if I can," Victoria said as she ran down to the spot she was standing on in the loft. Miraculously, she managed to get in the right position just when Jack and Dr. Finklestein came into view. Victoria waved at the two of them. Jack waved back and lifted up a carpet bag with clinking glass inside so she could see. Dr. Finklestein merely sniffed haughtily and wheeled himself off back to his laboratory.

After a few seconds, they were on their way again, both ready to leave the castle.

* * *

**Musically: _So, Victoria, did Sally seem nice?_**

**Victoria: _(shifty eyes) Sally? Who's she? I don't know. I never talked to anyone in that room. Exactly what is your definition of talk? I was holding it for a friend!_**

**Jack: _(is oblivious) Science is power!_**


	7. Misunderstandings

**Musically: _(releases Jack and Victoria from soundproof room) Hey. Sorry that took so long._ **

**Jack/Victoria: _I can breathe again!_**

**Musically: _Good, because you're going to be all worn out by the time this chapter is over._**

**Victoria: _Daaaaaaaaaang. _**

* * *

Night fell quickly for Victoria. She and Jack spent a long time chatting amiably while he prepared dinner for her, which happened to be his specialty spaghetti and snake meatballs. After it was done, they started to eat instantly. Surprisingly, it was better than the pasta Victoria had tried in most of the Italian restaurants she went to. Jack shoveled noodles into his mouth, splattering tomato sauce messily all over his mouth. Victoria watched on in bafflement. 

"You don't usually eat like…this," she observed. Jack looked up at her from his plate as though he had just realized she was sitting across from him. He took a black napkin and hastily wiped off the sauce.

"I know," he said, "I'm just excited, that's all!" Victoria raised an eyebrow as she lowered her fork.

"What's there to be excited about?" she asked curiously. In reply, Jack motioned to something behind her, looking over her shoulder in anticipation. Victoria twisted around and caught his stare. The burgundy carpet bag sat droopingly on the counter. Its middle was fat with the test tubes, beakers, and Bunsen burners it held inside. "I see."

"I can't wait to try these out; I really can't," Jack muttered ecstatically. Victoria took on a motherly tone.

"You should finish your dinner first. Do you want all that to go to waste?" she said, pointing at the half-eaten plate of spaghetti. Jack shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't worry, I have someone to fill in for me," he said. Victoria's thoughts were displayed on her face: I'm confused. Jack let out a high pitched whistle, and a barking noise was heard from upstairs. Victoria gazed up at the spiraling wood staircase, and to her surprise, a small ghost dog was gliding down the stairs to greet his master.

"Victoria, this is Zero. He doesn't bite, if that's what you're wondering," Jack said. Zero had now begun to float around Victoria and yap happily, and she laughed at the antics of the dog. His jack-o-lantern nose glowed brightly in delight.

"How cute!" she cooed as she scratched Zero behind a long, billowy ear. Surprisingly, her hand didn't go through him like she thought it would. Instead it felt quite soft and solid. It also lacked the coldness that Jack's bones would give her whenever they touched. Zero stayed to receive her praise for a minute, and then started in on Jack's forsaken pasta. To Victoria's astonishment, Jack was gone. She turned around and saw that the carpet bag was too.

* * *

Sally mixed the liquids carefully, making sure she didn't add too much witch hazel or cyanide as she shook the mixing bottle. She had to show Jack that she understood. She wasn't like the other citizens of Halloween Town, and she knew it herself. While they were drawn to blood, gore, and creepy-crawlies, Sally would much rather amuse herself with sewing or cooking. Sometimes she even let her thoughts wander to Jack's Christmas idea. 

When that happened, though, she tried not to get their hopes up. Christmas could never happen in her town of Halloween. Dispelling all of these thoughts from her head, Sally corked the bottle tightly so the gas inside wouldn't leak out. Maybe if Jack saw this message in the bottle, he'd know she wanted something else too. She wrapped the green bottle in a checkerboard blanket that lay in a basket, adding a fish's skeleton for looks.

A purplish string was wrapped around her spinning wheel. Sally undid the thread and tied it around the handle of the basket, then rigged it around a hook on the ceiling to make a pulley. The rag doll pushed the iron window. It opened with a moan, revealing the blanket of stars that covered the black sky more clearly than it had before. Carefully, she lifted the basket over the edge while holding onto the string. Little by little she lowered the picnic basket down to the ground that was far below. She heard a thump, and then she let go of the string.

Sally crawled up to the window so that she was on the edge. The colors blended into the ground below, and suddenly she was aware of how high up she was. Of course, it wouldn't hurt her much to fall. A spool of blue thread was tucked into her pocket, and the silvery needle behind her ear glinted in the moonlight. She looked over her shoulder cautiously. As soon as she made sure that the doctor wasn't coming, she closed her eyes and took the leap of faith.

A blue arm and leg flew in different directions as Sally hit the ground with a deadly impact. Her eyes flickered open. Using her remaining limbs, she lifted herself up into a sitting position and grabbed her detached arm and leg. A quick fix was made as she used the needle and thread to sew herself back together again, a painless procedure that soon let Sally be on her way. She grabbed the basket and began to walk over to Jack's house.

Several minutes later, Sally found herself standing below the window that was stationed on the tallest tower of Jack's house. Light shone through the window, telling Sally where he was. She grabbed a rock, tied the string that was attached to the basked around it, and hurled it at Jack's window. Luckily, the thread was long, and her aim was good. The stone hit the window hard enough to make a noise, but softly enough so that it didn't break the glass. To Sally's relief, the window open and Jack looked out with a puzzled expression. Sally waved to him from the ground, pulling back the rock and pointing out the basket to him. Jack nodded with a smile and held out his hands. Sally tossed him the rock, which he caught and brought back into the room. Slowly, the basket began to rise up to the window where Jack would see that Sally knew. Sally felt herself beginning to blush. Without a word, she fled from the scene, leaving nothing but a confused Jack to close the window after she disappeared.

Sally began to tire of running. She slowed down by the front gate of Jack's hose, sliding down against the stone grey wall silently. She brushed a strand of red hair out of her eyes. When she could see properly, she noticed a small gathering of blackened thistles that had sprouted from the damp ground. Sally picked one, admiring its hidden beauties. Then, before her very eyes, it began to change shape.

The bristly black thistle turned green and lush as it spun around between her fingers, and little baubles decorated its new branches. A golden star twinkled at the tip. Silver tinsel was wrapped around the miniature tree and began to glisten underneath the starlight. Sally looked on in delight; it was just like the Christmas tree at Jack and Victoria's meeting! After this, to her horror, the tree burst into flames. The baubles exploded and the tinsel disintegrated, leaving nothing but the burnt thistle she had before. Suddenly, Sally felt that her first feelings about Christmas had not been the right ones.

* * *

A pumpkin-shaped sun flooded the town with a foggy light. It spilled in through the guest room window, waking Victoria abruptly from her good dreams. Sleepily, she went into the bathroom and got ready for another day, brushing her teeth and her hair until she was presentable. 

"Jack?" Victoria called as she went downstairs. She received no answer. Confused, she stepped into the kitchen to see if he was busy making breakfast. There was nothing sizzling on the stove or cooking in the oven, and her skeleton friend was nowhere to be found. Zero, as she could see, was snoozing comfortably in his doggy bed with a bone clutched protectively between his canine teeth. His pumpkin nose twitched once or twice. Then, his eyes opened and he slowly glided over to Victoria, nuzzling her arm.

Victoria patted Zero absentmindedly. Where could Jack be? Surely he still wasn't doing experiments in that room…right? Just to make sure, Victoria headed back upstairs with Zero closely following.

"Jack!" Victoria called. She twisted the doorknob of the left entrance (he had told her that this was the library) and released it just as quickly. It was locked. She listened, frustrated, by his peaceful snores. Then, something else was heard.

Victoria opened the corridor window, and she heard the voices of people looking mournfully up at Jack's room. They shook their heads, talking amongst each other in hushed tones.

"_Something's up with Jack, something's up with Jack." _

_"Don't know if we're ever going to get him back."_

_"He's all alone up there, locked away inside."_

_"Never says a word, hope he hasn't died."_

Victoria echoed them as she stared warily at the door, "_Something's up with Jack. Something's up with Jack!" _She tried the doorknob one more time, and at the sound of the jostling handle, Jack woke with a start. He rubbed his eye sockets and went to open the door. When he did, he revealed a very angry looking Victoria, and a confused Zero.

"Oh, hello, Victoria," Jack yawned as she stomped inside.

"Jack, the townspeople are talking about you! How long have you been up here, exactly?" she asked accusingly. Jack stared at her, wondering why she was so furious.

"Victoria, honestly, I didn't mean to stay up all night! You really should see this stuff, it's fascinating," Jack said weakly, turning to his experiments. There were so many things he had yet to try! Surely there was some meaning to Christmas, and he was going to find it. He could worry about Victoria's anger and Sally's cryptic message in a bottle later.

Victoria shook her head.

"That's not good enough, Jack. I want to hear an explanation," she said as calmly as she could. Jack looked at her, and then began to delve into an account of what was going on in his head. Victoria listened intently as he started.

_"Christmas time is buzzing in my skull!_

_Will it let me be? I cannot tell,_

_There's so many things I cannot grasp,_

_When I think I've got it then at last,_

_Through my bony fingers it does slip,_

_Like a snowflake in a fiery grip!" _Jack tried to explain to her.

Victoria looked at him incredulously. Was he seriously trying to find a scientific reasoning for Christmas? That wasn't possible; she knew that.

"_There's something here I'm not quite getting,_

_Though I try I keep forgetting! Like a memory_

_Long since past,_

_Here in an instant, gone in a flash,_

_What does it mean? What does it mean?"_

Jack rubbed his skull. The experimenting had taken its toll on his brain, and now fatigue and confusion were blurring his senses. Victoria let him take her seat while she got up. Perhaps she could talk (or sing) some reason into Jack. She walked over to the display of dolls and toys he had lying on a table. She fingered a model car for a moment, and then turned to Jack.

_"In these little bric-a-brac,_

_No secret's waiting to be cracked._

_Do these toys and dolls confuse you so?_

_Do they have a reason? How do you know?_

_Only playthings, nothing more!_

_Nothing here can you explore._

_Christmas really has no reason,_

_It's the spirit of giving!__  
It's part of the season!" _

Jack got up from his chair, looking defiant and intimidating at his full height. Victoria glared up at him. She thought he knew better than to question things that are understood, but she guessed he was more naïve than she thought. Jack, on the other hand, had no idea why Victoria was denying his claims. He knew there had to be some explanation as to why the thought of Christmas wouldn't leave him alone.

While Victoria watched, Jack strode over to the bookshelves, pulling out his newfound Christmas stories and rhymes. Victoria rolled her eyes as she saw Jack consult them again. He began to sing again, as if he didn't hear anything she just said.

_"I've read these Christmas books so many times,_

_I know the stories, and I know the rhymes. _

_I know the Christmas carols all by heart; _

_My skull's so full it's tearing me apart!_

_As often as I've read them, something's wrong._

_So hard to put my bony finger on…" _

Jack placed his chin in his hands as he sat down on the stairs. A look of frustration grew on his face, while Victoria's began to soften. She walked over to him and stared right at him. Maybe she could help him overcome his obsession by speaking to him nicely.

"_Perhaps it's not as deep as you've been led to think._

_Jack, you're trying much too hard!_

_You know, you've been too close to view._

_The answer's right in front of you!_

_Right in front of you," _

Victoria pointed to a book cover that was sitting beside Jack. A picture of angels circling Earth and holding hands was in the center, and the border was made up of golden words saying, "Peace on Earth and goodwill towards men." Jack looked in the direction of her finger. Unfortunately, he saw the wrong thing. It was a black and white picture that had been taken quite recently, one of him in his usual scaring mode and looking quite terrifying in his ghostly suit.

It was then that he saw the picture within. Jack began to visualize himself wearing the tradition red coat, hat, and pants that Sandy Claws always wore, and his picture started to grin back at him. Jack smacked a bony palm to his forehead.

"Of course!" Jack exclaimed, and he and Victoria started to sing together.

_"It's simple, really! Very clear_

_Like music drifting in the air,_

_Invisible but everywhere!" _

_"Just because you cannot see it,"_

_"Doesn't mean I can't believe it!" _

Victoria grinned. She had actually gotten through to him! Or, so she thought. She started to sing while Jack and her danced around happily.

"_Jack, you know, this Christmas thing,_

_Isn't as tricky as it seems."_

_"Yes, why should they have all the fun?_

_It should belong to anyone!" _

Victoria stopped dead in her tracks.

"Wait, what?" she asked. Jack ignored her, taking her by the hands and twirling her around. He continued to sing, despite the confusion that Victoria was radiating.

"_Not anyone, in fact, but we!  
We simple folk of Halloween._

_There's no reason I could find _

_That says I couldn't handle Christmas time!" _

Victoria had realized her mistake too late. Now Jack wanted to take over Christmas! The room spun around and around as Jack danced, and Victoria tried to escape from his icy grip. She finally broke away and fell into the electric chair that Jack had sitting in the corner.

Jack kicked up strings of Christmas lights that wrapped around the chair, bonding Victoria to the seat tightly. Her heart was pounding with fear as Jack reached for the electricity lever, unaware of the girl that was tied to the death seat. Victoria, thinking quickly, slipped out of the chair from the bottom when Jack sang his last lines.

"_I bet we could improve it too!_

_And that's exactly what we'll do." _

Just as Victoria had feared, Jack pulled down on the lever, making the colored bulbs expand and burst, scattering glass shards all over the room. By now, Zero was hiding in the corner. Victoria looked in horror at the remains of the Christmas lights, now merely a string that hung loosely over the chair. That could have been her.

Without a word, she stormed over to the door. Seeing that Victoria was leaving, Jack called out to her.

"Where are you going, Victoria?" he asked cheerily. Victoria's hand, which was on the doorknob, slowly released the handle. Large dents had been impressed upon the metal. She turned around to face Jack, and the skeleton was taken slightly aback at how scary some humans could be.

Her face was contorted in disgust. White, ivory teeth that made a wonderful smile were now bared and grinding in fury and her face was a flushed red. Her fists were clenched tightly, and her eyes were the darkest green Jack had seen yet. When Victoria spoke, there was a distinct darkness in her usually mellow voice that shocked Jack.

"You," she said calmly, "nearly killed me a few minutes ago. I would have ended up like those burnt light bulbs. I'm leaving. I don't know where I'm going, or how long I will be gone, but I assure you, I will not be coming back anytime soon. Please, Jack, for your own sake and others, think before you do stupid things."

With that, Victoria opened the door and disappeared behind it before Jack could say anything in return. The exit slammed shut, and Jack flinched. Hesitantly, he glanced over at the busted lights. The glass that remained on the string had melted mostly away, and the white and rainbow colors had been burnt into a dark black. Most of them were still steaming.

Now stricken with the impact of what he had done, Jack called to Zero. His dog didn't come.

"Not you too," Jack muttered guiltily. He shook his head and went downstairs to leave, intent on finding Victoria and righting his wrongs.

* * *

A fat corpse boy tugged on his mother's dress. He had been listening to Victoria and Jack's singing, which had been louder than they realized.

"Did you hear that, Mommy? We're gonna have Christmas time! We are, we are! Jack said so!" the boy said, bouncing up and down. The mother turned to the father.

"Christmas time? You mean he wasn't kidding?" asked the father. He looked at his wife joyfully.

"Oh, this will be splendid! Come, we absolutely must tell the Howlers," the wife said, grasping both the father and the son's hands. Little did Jack and Victoria know just how far this information would spread.

* * *

**Musically: _Oh, noes! Victoria is gone! _**

**Jack: _This will be murder all over again. Trying to find an orange-and-black Victoria in Halloween town is trying to find Where's Waldo on the Forth of July..._**

**Musically: _Well, you did almost kill her._**

**Jack: _I didn't mean to, though! Victoria, where are you?_**


	8. Forgiveness

**Musically:_ Hi, everyone. Sorry it took so long to update; it was a mixture of writer's block and being so freakin' busy. I'm back now, though! Just in time to see what happens next._**

**Jack: _Is that Victoria? Oh, no. It's just an old rag._**

**Random Ghost: _That's Mr. Rag, to you, pal!_**

**Musically:_ 00_**

* * *

Sally awoke with a start as the iron gate creaked behind her. She realized that she must have fallen asleep after seeing her disturbing vision. Loud, stomping footsteps worked their way around the gate, which was slammed rather noisily as it was passed, so Sally pressed herself closer to the stone column that hid her from the stranger. She looked forward, expecting to see Jack storming out of the house. But no, no one was there.

Sally waited for a few minutes to see if anyone would show up. No one passed the column. Soon, though, Sally heard a slight thump on the other side of the rocky pillar. Sniffling noises behind her started to soften her fears, so she carefully peeked over the column. To her surprise, she saw Victoria sitting with her back to the wall, and Sally could hear her trying to stifle her cries and saw her wiping away the salty tears. Soon, she'd seen enough.

"Victoria?" Sally whispered, putting a soft hand on her arm. Victoria jumped. She then looked over at Sally, remembering the face and voice from times past. Quickly, Victoria began to quiet her crying and dry her eyes, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of the other girl.

"Sorry, Sally, it's just…Jack, he-"

"I know a better place where we can talk about it, if you'd like. I know how Jack can be sometimes," Sally offered. Victoria seriously doubted Sally knew that Jack had inadvertently tried to kill her, but she nodded anyways, grateful for the compassion. Sally stood up and helped Victoria to her feet. The rag doll led Victoria away from the Skellington manor and to the winding road that led to Spiral Hill.

Minutes passed like seconds as Sally and Victoria sat on the hill. The pumpkin sun had begun to set gloriously over the hill, smearing muted reds, oranges, and pinks across the navy sky. The two girls talked like old friends. Victoria explained the situation to Sally, who listened with complete attention and an unbiased ear. After a while, there was nothing else to say, so they dangled their feet out over the edge and stared off into the horizon, watching the sun sink into the ground.

Soon, Victoria broke the silence by asking, "Sally? Do you think Jack will ever…you know, go through with it?" Sally watched the last sliver of light fade away, giving into the inky black sky above. She gave a half-hearted shrug. The vivid picture of a flaming evergreen was impressed upon her mind and wasn't going away. Sally wondered if this was a vision of the future. Worriedly, she bit her lip.

"I don't know, Victoria. I certainly hope not," Sally admitted. Victoria gave her an empathetic look. They looked back at the beautifully eerie landscape that was laid out before them for a while, until Sally said, "I need to tell you about something." Then Sally began to tell her all about her strange vision.

Jack walked slowly through the town. No inch of the dismal place was left undiscovered by the determined Pumpkin King, who was having no luck. Victoria was nowhere to be found. The worst part was that the citizens wouldn't leave him alone about the Christmas thing, as someone seemed to have spread a rumor that it was going to take place in Halloween Town. Jack would have been excited, had Victoria felt the same way. He had to find her.

"Ah, Jack!" a cheery voice from behind him called, "Is it true?" Reluctantly, Jack spun around on his heel to face the pudgy mayor with a fake smile.

"What would you mean by that, Mayor?" Jack asked in a forcibly pleasant voice. The Mayor's expression flickered to confusion for a second before he put a happy face back on.

"I mean, is it true that we're planning to have Christmas? Right here in Halloween Town? If so, we have a lot to do, you know! I have plans somewhere around here," the Mayor said. He began to feel around in his pockets for the plans for the celebration. His grin widened as he extracted a scroll of paper from his front pocket, which extended down to the ground when it unrolled.

"See? If we get started now, we can even-"

Jack intervened, "Mayor, I'd love to talk. At the moment, though, I've got other obligations that are quite urgent. We'll see about those plans later!" Without bothering to hear a reply from the Mayor, Jack turned away quickly and headed further into the bustling crowd. He checked the sarcophagi, the Werewolf Woods, and finally, the pumpkin patch.

Orange gourds surrounded Jack. They formed together in a sort of maze, as though trying to prevent him from looking for Victoria. Angrily, he kicked a pumpkin. Tangerine goo sprinkled with moist seeds spilled out onto the spongy ground below and got all over his shoes. Cursing quietly, he stepped out of the mess and headed north.

Jack stepped over the large pumpkins awkwardly until he came to the base of Spiral Hill. Tiredly, he leaned against the grey mound and crossed his thin arms across his chest. He couldn't even begin to think about what had happened to his young friend; it was too depressing to bear. Slowly, Jack slid silently down to the ground until he was sitting, holding his skull in his hands in defeat. Voices drifted down to him from the top of the hill. They wrapped around his head, telling him to look up to the summit.

Slowly, Jack lifted his head up from his palms and glanced upwards. He couldn't see anyone clearly. To get a better view he got up and crept around Spiral Hill, walking in a cat-like manner uphill so he wouldn't make any noise. Jack's spirit soared as he saw Victoria and Sally sitting in front of him.

"Victoria! Sally!" Jack cried. The two girls jumped in surprise and twisted around quickly so that they could see who was calling.

"Jack!" Sally called, stunned. Victoria stayed silent and glared at Jack as he approached them. As soon as he was close enough, Jack knelt down to Victoria's level and hung his head. Victoria's eyebrows rose slightly when he started to speak.

"Victoria," Jack said, "I'm sorry. I got so carried away! I didn't even see you there, I was being so foolish. Please, please say you'll forgive me! I can make it up to you."

"How?"

"I can show you the best Christmas that Halloween Town has to offer if you'll say that I'm forgiven."

Victoria thought for a second or two, and then answered coolly, "I forgive you Jack, but only because you realized that you were being stupid about Christmas. I don't know about having Christmas in Halloween Town; the citizens might not understand it."

"Hey!" Sally objected. Victoria corrected herself.

"Most of them," she said apologetically. Jack couldn't help himself, so he smiled widely.

"Oh, contraire! I spent all day looking for you, and everyone in town kept asking me about Christmas. They really want to have a Christmas of their own! Just give us a chance, Victoria. We can show you," Jack said. Victoria looked away uncertainly.

"I can show you."

Victoria _looked_ back at Jack. The angry look in her forest green eyes had been replaced by a final, consenting gaze. Smiling slightly, she nodded.

"I guess that's strike one. Two more and you're out!" Victoria joked.

Jack and Sally exchanged confused glances.

"That means that Jack messed up once and if he screws two more things up, he's not getting any more chances," she explained exasperatedly. Sally and Jack laughed weakly, not getting the idiom. Victoria shook her head as Jack helped her up, and Sally lifted herself up off of the ground.

Moonlight cast them all in a melancholy light. Sally's bright eyes seemed darkened, and Victoria's face appeared gaunt and thin, but Jack's white skull looked as though it were glowing. He was relieved. The feeling of forgiveness could be a powerful one, especially if it was mixed with the anticipation of what was yet to come.

* * *

**Musically_: So, what's yet to come? Only I, the all-powerful writer, know! Yes, grovel in fear at sight of my terrifyingly awesome fanfic, which rules over all of the pathetic lives that exist on this planet!_**

**Jack: _My. She really has gone insane, hasn't she?_**

**_Victoria/Sally: Ooooohhhh yeah. _**


	9. A Reunion of Sorts

**Musically: _Sorry for the long delay, everyone. I had studying to do, and I lost track of time. So, to make up for it, I bring you a SUPER LONG CHAPTER OF DOOM. It has a song, a slightly naive Jack, and Victoria in pain! Everything anyone could ever want. Enjoy._ **

**Victoria: _(gets first aid kit ready)_**

**Jack: _Wait...I'm not naive, am I?_**

**Victoria/Musically: _Yeah. You are._**

A thick curtain of mist blocked the jack-o-lantern sun the next morning, making everything in Halloween Town more drab and dismal than usual. Town Hall was no exception. The dark room looked terribly bleak as the shadows of the seats were cast over the floor. Victoria, who was sitting by the windowsill, could make out tiny droplets of rain falling onto the glass and sliding down helplessly as they gave in to the force of gravity. She propped her chin up with her palm. Bored as she was, she didn't move. Jack had told her to stay there until he said he was ready at the steps of Town Hall; he said he had a surprise for her.

The rain started and stopped sporadically. Storms normally interested Victoria, but she would rather have watched a sink faucet drip than stay here for another five minutes. She shifted in her spot. The window seat was long and cushioned, and the spiders that hung from the cobwebs above didn't seem to bother her so much. It was just that she couldn't move around. Victoria soon decided that she would make the most of her break and spread herself out onto the seat. Her head nestled down comfortably into the black pillows. In just a little while, she felt her eyelids began to flicker…

"Victoria!" Jack shouted, flinging the door open with a bang. Victoria jumped and fell off of the window seat, putting a shaky hand to her heart as if to slow it.

"I've asked you once not to do that!" she snapped.

"Twice, actually."

Victoria growled as she picked herself and the pillow that came down with her up. She put the velvety cushion back in its place. After brushing herself off, she stared at Jack with an almost suspicious expression.

"So, what's the big surprise?" Victoria asked. Jack opened the door that separated the parlor from the main lobby. Immediately, the sound of a bustling crowd and excited shouts reached them and flooded their ears.

Jack called over the noise of crowd, "Follow me!" Victoria did so, wondering what exactly he had summoned all of these monsters for. Soon they had passed through the corridor that lead to the front entrance and were now face to face with the only thing that separated them from the onslaught of citizens. Slowly, Jack twisted the doorknob open and revealed a colorful crowd that clashed with the gloomy sky. Cheers arose from the swarm.

"Friends," Jack announced, spreading his arms wide, "I believe a rumor has been spread that has something to do with Christmas being held in Halloween Town. Is this correct?" A general murmur of agreement answered him.

"Well, then, it is my pleasure to inform you that this is true," Jack called. Wildly, the audience roared out their approval, sounding like a stampede of enraged animals. Victoria tried to ignore the impulse that was telling her to cover her ears with her hands. Instead, she smiled uncertainly.

"I'm supposing you'd like to know who came up with this brilliant idea," Jack said expectantly. The whole crowd nodded, and their heads seemed to form a wavy ocean of black and orange. Jack stepped forwards, and to Victoria's shock, held out his bony hands towards her.

"You all remember Victoria from the meeting, I presume?" Jack asked. The crowd yelled out their agreement, many waving at Victoria and shouting her name in remembrance. Weakly, Victoria waved back. A freezing push from behind her caused her to inhale sharply and move closer to the audience. Jack towered over her from behind, holding out his arms to draw attention to the startled girl in front of him.

"Before you now, good citizens, is the founder of the genius idea! Victoria!" The whole crowd burst into applause. Victoria stood, dumbstruck, as the monsters and ghouls cheered along with Jack. Almost silently, Victoria began to speak. Before she could even get a word out, though, Jack interrupted her with his next statement.

"Now, to make Christmas, I have a special job for each and every one of you. Victoria and I will make sure that everything goes smoothly and that this Christmas will be the best ever!" Jack exclaimed. The crowd applauded one last time before Jack opened the door wide, allowing them to enter Town Hall. Victoria waited until the last monster had been corralled into the building before speaking to the skeleton.

"Jack, you big liar! What was that all about? It was your idea to make Christmas, not mine. I still don't even know if I'm all for it or not!" Victoria said harshly. A hint of panic could be noticed in the pitch of her voice, so Jack tried to calm her down. He shook his skull vigorously.

"No, no! You've got it all wrong, Victoria. Now that they think you came up with this thing, you'll be treated like a celebrity! A genius!" he explained. Victoria scowled skeptically.

In return, Jack said, "I'm only trying to make it up to you. What was it you said, I have two strikes left? Or something of that manner?" Unwillingly, Victoria nodded slowly.

"Whatever," she said moodily as she entered the building, "but don't expect me to enjoy this."

"At least try to smile," Jack whispered to Victoria as they pushed through the crowd. A large, sutured grin was showing vividly on Jack's face, as though encouraging his young companion to do the same. Victoria rolled her eyes. She managed a weak smile that seemed to hold the crowd over well. It wasn't long before they had pushed through the masses and reached an olden chest that was filled with Christmas toys and objects.

The Mayor of Halloween Town stood proudly beside them behind a podium. Ink was splattered all over his fine grey coat, though he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he grinned widely at the pair. A large feather quill guided by the Mayor's hand scribbled some words down on a clipboard, and then was dipped in a bottle of ink.

"Nice to see you two alive and well!" the Mayor said cheerily, "Or dead, in your case, Jack." Jack laughed and Victoria smiled faintly. While Victoria waited beside him, Jack fished around the chest until he pulled out a long, trailing list. He handed it to Victoria. The parchment smelled old and musty, but she could see that the writing was fresh and clean as though someone had scrawled it down quite recently.

It was a list. On the left side, names like "The Vampires" and "Witches" were written neatly and clearly, and matching jobs were written beside them. In disbelief, Victoria looked over the list. She elbowed Jack gently to get his attention.

"Are you sure the citizens will go for this?" she asked skeptically. Jack chortled and faced the commotion of the line in front of them.

Out of the corner of his mouth, he said, "We'll just have to see, won't we?" Victoria eyed him suspiciously from over the edge of the list. Jack seemed to ignore her and greeted the harlequin demon, whose orange and black locks curled and uncurled in an offbeat rhythm. He looked over at Victoria even though her face was mostly obscured by the parchment.

"What've you got there? Another Christmas thing?" the demon asked curiously, reaching for the list. Victoria stepped away and peered over the paper to look at him. His interesting scale pattern glistened colorfully as he walked into the light. She put the list slightly out of his reach, making his face fall, but she smiled politely back at him.

"It's a list of everyone's, um, Christmas jobs. It says that you will make the proper clothing for the holiday," Victoria said, turning sideways to Jack, "Is that right?" Jack nodded in response.

"Of course!" he said, wrapping a friendly arm around the demon's shoulders, "Who better to make our hats and scarves than our brilliant Harley?" The harlequin demon beamed with pride and puffed his chest out.

"Well, I have been working on a few ideas lately," Harley said in a forced kind of modesty. Jack chuckled happily and handed the monster a knit hat and scarf from his Christmas chest.

"Just to get you started," the skeleton said as he ushered Harley out of the building. Before he left, however, Harley looked over his shoulder.

"Great idea, Victoria! It'll be like nothing else!" Victoria felt herself redden as the demon walked out of the door. Jack returned to his post and grinned when he saw the blushing girl.

"What did I tell you?" he said triumphantly. Victoria shrugged it off and waited for the next citizens to arrive. The list went on and on, and citizens came and went.

Occasionally, the Mayor would say things such as, "How horrible our Christmas will be!" and Jack had to correct him often.

"No, Mayor, how **jolly **our Christmas will be!" The Mayor looked instantly crestfallen as he repeated Jack.

"Oh…how _jolly _our Christmas will be…" Almost instantly, the Mayor was pelted with a variety of hard objects by an unseen source. The Mayor's blue face was at first furious, but then turned to a look of uncertainty and fear.

"J-Jack! It's B-B-Boogie's Boys!" he stammered quietly. Victoria raised an eyebrow in confusion and craned her neck to see who exactly Boogie's Boys were. When she saw the culprits, she tried to stifle a gasp. A witch, a devil, and a skeleton stood side by side, giggling mischievously at the sight of the unnerved Mayor. Lock, Shock, and Barrel were there.

The Mayor turned on them with an angered countenance.

"What are you three doing here?" he asked accusingly.

"Jack sent for us," Lock replied.

"Specifically!" Shock added.

"By name," Barrel finished. The mayor shook his head and returned to his papers, trying to ignore the tiny menaces.

"Lock? Shock? Barrel?" Victoria asked incredulously. Upon seeing her, the trio closed in on her from all sides, nearly pushing her up against the wall.

"Victoria," Shock said coolly, "nice to see you again."

"Especially after that window thing," Barrel noted, sounding a little upset. Victoria looked to see if Jack was listening. He wasn't. Quickly, Victoria bent down to their level and hushed her voice.

"Oh, he didn't find out it was you, did he?" she asked worriedly. They laughed.

"That old geezer?" Lock snickered, "He wouldn't have found out if we'd given him a signed confession."

"I hear he almost caught you though," Shock told her, "So what'd you do?"

"I lied about it."

"Why? I thought people weren't supposed to do that."

"It's nothing you three wouldn't have done in that situation."

Lock, Shock, and Barrel nodded in understanding, ending the conversation just as Jack swiveled around to face them.

"Ah, Halloween's finest trick-or-treaters!" Jack announced, drawing the children closer with his long, bony arms.

Jack continued, "The job I have for you is top secret. It requires craft, cunning, and mischief." Shock snickered.

"And we thought you didn't like us, Jack," the witch giggled, almost collapsing with her companions in laughter. Jack was quick to straighten them out and get their attention so he could finish his statement.

"Absolutely no one is to know about it, not a soul!" Jack said, pointing at each of them for emphasis. The children listened attentively. Jack bent in closer so he could whisper, and Lock, Shock, and Barrel did the same. Victoria could see the mayor trying to listen in with his megaphone and ending up getting bitten by a hiding spider. Small bits of the conversation could be heard such as, "tree", and "Christmas Town", but Victoria couldn't make out much else. Finally, Jack rose and the children backed away.

Lock, Shock, and Barrel started to leave, but then Jack tugged on Lock's tail.

"And one more thing," he said harshly, "Leave that no-account Oogie Boogie out of this!" The children put on simpering smiles.

"Whatever you say, Jack."

"Of course, Jack!"

"Wouldn't dream of it, Jack."

Victoria could see the demonic children crossing their fingers behind their back. With that, the children scurried out of Town Hall, cackling madly as they went. Victoria, who was quite interested in this 'top secret' job, prodded Jack in the ribs.

"What?" he asked, rubbing his side. Victoria had poked him a bit too hard.

"What kind of job did you give them?" she asked apprehensively. Jack looked unsure about something for a split second, and then he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I believe I can tell you," Jack said. He leaned close to Victoria and whispered in her ear.

"They're going to kidnap Sandy Claws so that I can take over for this year! Isn't that great?" the skeleton said giddily. In shock, Victoria pulled back.

"Are you kidding? That'll never work!" she shouted. Jack motioned for her to quiet down, and she did so reluctantly.

"It's just like giving him a vacation," Jack explained in a quiet voice, "and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone. It's going to be a surprise."

"It surprised me, all right," Victoria muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing…Jack, I've got to go. Here take this," Victoria said, thrusting the long list into his skeletal hands. She ran out the door, ignoring his calls. When she got outside, she could see that the sun was setting rapidly and that the clouds had gotten darker. To her relief, though, Lock, Shock, and Barrel were still in sight, barely standing over the horizon.

Victoria ran as fast as her legs would take her. She was careful not to let them see her; she didn't want them to know that she knew what they were doing. By hiding behind random trees, Victoria managed to stay out of sight until they reached the tree house. Her breathing slowed down as she stopped. Her back was against the smooth bark of a birch, arched in an uncomfortable way.

Curiously, Victoria peeked around the edge of the tree. She could hear the children singing and laughing as they crossed a rickety wooden bridge. An odd birdcage was sitting on the other side, and they entered it swiftly as they sang.

"_Kidnap Mr. Sandy Claws?" _

"_I wanna do it!"_

"_Let's draw straws!"_

Victoria watched them in a kind of awe. Were they seriously going to this? She saw Shock smack Lock in the face with her hard mask as she closed the door to the birdcage behind them.

"_Jack said we should work together."_

"_Three of a kind, birds of a feather, now and forever!" _

The birdcage rose into the sky as the rope pulled tight, and the kids sang an annoying little tune as they ascended. Victoria snuck out from behind the spindly tree. She sprinted over to the tree house just in time for the cage to fall down again, but this time it was empty. The children disappeared into the house above her. Awkwardly, Victoria crawled into the birdcage and closed the door, triggering the pulley to lift her up. The cage swayed dangerously but brought her up to the top with little effort.

Victoria opened the door quietly and stepped inside. The lobby didn't look inviting or safe; the walls were lined with maces, battles axes, and bear traps that were caked with red rust. She raised her eyebrows slightly. Then she shook her head, remembering what she had come to do. Victoria followed the sound of the high-pitched voices until she came to an open doorway, where Lock, Shock, and Barrel were plotting the kidnapping of Sandy Claws.

"_Kidnap the Sandy Claws, _

_lock him up real tight! _

_Throw away the key and then _

_turn off all the lights!" _

The children didn't seem to notice her. Lock watched while Barrel produced a small, metal cage out of thin air and placed his lollipop inside. Shock tugged on an axe that was wedged inside the wooden walls. It came out with some effort. She fondled it with a wicked grin.

Victoria watched, horrified, as a small green bug crawled into the cage. Shock swung the axe around wildly, cutting the rope that held the door open and encasing the bug.

"_First we're going to set some bait _

_Inside a nasty trap and wait," _Shock planned.

"_When he comes a-sniffing,_

_We will snap the trap and close the gate!" _

The cage was passed to Lock, who sat beside a bubbling cauldron. He inspected the beetle with narrowed eyes, and then smiled widely. The devil dipped the whole cage into the acid and brought it out proudly. The beetle seemed to groan.

"_Wait! I've got a better plan_

_to catch this big, red lobster man! _

_Let's pop him in a boiling pot _

_and when he's done, we'll butter him up!"_

Lock held the box as he hopped off of his seat. The beetle inside was now a sickly green color and was dripping with the liquid that it had been drenched in. Shock and Barrel joined him. They all circled around a large tube that was fashioned to look like a monster's mouth, and the bug was unceremoniously tossed to Shock. The two boys bowed down as she sang.

"_Then Mr. Oogie Boogie Man…" _she sang, throwing the bug down the tube,

"_can take the whole thing over then!" _The boys got up and peered into the pipe.

They sang, _"He'll be so pleased, I do declare, that he will cook him rare! Whee!" _

The children giggled madly and collapsed into a heap of laughter as Victoria walked over to them, thoroughly disgusted. She began to talk, but it came out as more singing, since she couldn't get their song out of her head.

"_Lock, Shock and Barrel!_

_I can't believe you three,_

_You can't kidnap Santa Claus,_

_You'll have to go through me!_

_Children all around the world_

_Get presents from him._

_If you kidnap Santa Claus,_

_What will happen then?"_

Lock, Shock, and Barrel all seemed equally surprised that Victoria had found their secret hiding place, if not more so by the fact that she didn't want Sandy Claws kidnapped. Lock's astonishment seemed to wear off the fastest. He smirked naughtily, and ran over to a nearby cannon. Barrel followed dutifully after and sat on the weapon.

"I'll tell you what will happen," Lock said. He then started to sing again.

"_I say that we take a cannon, aim it at his door and then_

_Knock three times and when he answers,_

_Sandy Claws will be no more!"_

Lock pulled the lever to the cannon, causing Barrel to soar through the air and land in an open closet. Shock and Lock scurried over to help him (his head had gotten stuck in a pot). As they pulled, Shock started to criticize Lock's methods.

"_You're so stupid! Think now,_

_if we blow him up to smithereens,_

_we might lose some pieces, and then_

_Jack will beat us black and green!" _

With a final tug, Barrel came out of the cauldron. His face was black from ashes, but his smile was wide and white. Lock and Shock tossed him into a bathtub so the dust would wash off.

"_Kidnap the Sandy Claws,_

_Tie him in a bag!_

_Throw him in the ocean,_

_Then see if he's sad!" _

Victoria had to avoid being splashed as water flew up from the basin, splattering everywhere. In frustration, she began to sing again.

"_You three just aren't making sense,_

_I can't seem to understand_

_And also, who's this bad guy_

_That you call the Boogie Man?"_

Victoria crossed her arms as the children began to grin evilly.

"_Mr. Oogie Boogie is the meanest guy around!_

_If I were on his Boogie list, I'd get out of town." _

With that, Lock and Shock jumped into the tub with unpleasant thumps. Victoria peered over the rim, getting knocked out of the way when the bathtub reared up on its feet. Now aggravated, Victoria chased after them.

Barrel sang, "_He'll be so pleased by our success,_

_That he'll reward us too, I'll bet!"_

"_Perhaps he'll make his special brew_

_Of snake and spider stew! Mmmm!" _

The bathtub came to a screeching halt in front of Victoria. The rim of the tub collided painfully with her stomach, making her double over. The kids' voices could still be heard.

"_We're his little henchmen,_

_and we take our job with pride._

_We do our best to please him_

_And stay on his good side."_

Victoria recovered quickly and rushed into the room where Shock was collecting weapons. Barrel had managed to get his foot caught in a ball-and-chain.

Shock sang, "_I wish my cohorts weren't so dumb."_

"_I'm not the dumb one!"_

"_You're no fun."_

"_Shut up!"_

"_Make me!"_

Shock shook her head and retrieved a small, wooden box from the closet, showing it to her two companions. She shook it a little. Something inside it rattled unpleasantly, and it made Victoria cringe.

"_I've got something, listen now!_

_This one is real good, you'll see._

_We'll send a present to his door_

_Upon there'll be a note to read._

_Now, in the box we'll wait and hide_

_Until his curiosity entices him to look inside!"_

"_And then we'll have him,_

_one, two, three!"_

Shock lifted the lid of the box, making three black scorpions fly out and land on Barrel. Barrel brushed them off casually. The three children leapt into action, collecting all manners of sharp objects and throwing them into the tub. Victoria also saw Lock grab a large trick-or-treat bag.

As the bathtub became fuller and fuller with their 'toys', Victoria tried one last time to get through to them.

"_Why would you kidnap Santa Claus?_

_He's done nothing but good._

_Please don't kidnap Santa Claus!_

_Forget it like you should!"_

The trio grinned maliciously at their weapons. They sang as they threw the final items into the basin.

"_Kidnap the Sandy Claws, beat him with a stick! Lock him up for ninety years, see what makes him tick!" _

Victoria's eyebrows furrowed in frustration. They hadn't listened to a word she had said! Lock, Shock, and Barrel had certainly seemed more eager to listen to Jack, at any rate. Well, if they wouldn't listen to her, she would block them physically. The moving bathtub had begun to exit the tree house. Speedily, Victoria ran to the other end and pushed with all her might, trying to force the children back into the place in desperation.

Unfortunately, this didn't work. Victoria found herself getting pushed backwards by the tub, sliding slowly down the spiraling tree branch. Her footing lost eventually. She tumbled down painfully on the limb, getting scratched by stray branches and sharp leaves until she landed with a thump on the ground. She lay sprawled out in the dust. Still, the sound of Lock, Shock, and Barrel's singing reached her ears through the hurt:

"_Kidnap the Sandy Claws,_

_chop him into bits!_

_Mr. Oogie Boogie is _

_Sure to get his kicks!_

_Kidnap the Sandy Claws,_

_See what we will see,_

_Lock him in a cage and then _

_Throw away the key!"_

The sound of their song faded into laughter as the trio disappeared into the forest. Victoria was left alone.

**Musically: _See? What'd I tell you? Okay, okay. It wasn't the most eventful chapter ever, but it's going to get better. Way better. Here's a hint: Victoria and Oogie are secretly connected in a way..._**

**Victoria: _I can't feel most of my body right now._**

**Musically: _Don't worry! You're supposed to feel that way!_**


	10. Twisted Christmas

**Musically: _Ouch. You all right?_**

**Victoria: _Yeah, I can feel everything again. But it's mostly painful. _**

**Musically: _Don't worry about it, you'll be fine. I gave you a little break, too. _**

**Victoria: _What do you mean?_**

**Musically: _There's another song again, but you don't have to sing. _**

**Victoria: _Whoo!_**

* * *

Victoria ran as fast as she could to Town Hall. The bruises and scratches didn't seem to hurt as much now; she had to talk to Jack. Did he know what kind of tortuous plans the children had in store for poor, unsuspecting Santa Claus? One way or another, she was going to tell him.

The building rapidly rose over the horizon, coming closer and closer as Victoria ran. Ragged breaths escaped her throat as she staggered through the door. A number of creatures tried to stop her, to see if she was alright, but she didn't stop until she had gotten to the front of the line. Jack was there. The monster band was conversing with him, playing an offbeat version of 'Jingle Bells'.

"Victoria!" Jack called as the band began to leave. She was leaning against a wall unsteadily, her chest rising irregularly as she tried to catch her breath. Dark green eyes looked up suddenly at him.

"Jack," Victoria panted, "I have to tell you..."

"What, what is it? Did you get hurt on your way back?" Jack asked, concerned. Victoria held a hand to her stomach in pain, but she waved him off with the other.

"Nah," she said tiredly, "I just got worn out. But there's something you have to know! Lock, Shock, and Barrel…they-"

"Say no more," Jack interrupted. Victoria's mouth was left slightly agape as she stared at Jack, who smiled knowingly.

"I know you're a bit nervous about Sandy Claws, but trust me. Those children wouldn't do anything to hurt him, or else they'd have to answer to me. You have my word for it," the skeleton said. Victoria frowned. She was about to tell him exactly where he could put his word when Sally peeked in from the door.

Sally blushed. A room with a smiling Jack and an angry Victoria was an awkward place to walk into. Quietly, she spoke.

"The Mayor said my job was ready?" Sally said unsurely. Jack beamed warmly and handed the list back to Victoria, who snorted indignantly. Jack eyed her confusedly. Victoria's green eyes rolled up to the ceiling, and then returned to the list where she saw Sally's name written in beautiful black ink.

Victoria told Sally her job, her voice getting more infuriated with each word, "You're going to make Jack's Sandy Claws outfit? I mean, Santa Claus?"

She turned on Jack with an incensed expression.

"You never said you were going to take his place!" Victoria yelled angrily.

Jack said, "Yes, I did. I wish you would stop saying that as if it were a bad thing." He looked at Sally gently while Victoria fumed behind him. Sally's face, on the other hand, was anxious and somewhat troubled.

"Sally, I need your help more than anyone's."

"You certainly do, Jack! I had the most terrible vision," she exclaimed. Jack turned around and rummaged around in the Christmas chest, looking for the pattern to his costume.

"That's splendid!" he replied absentmindedly. Something hard and square hit Jack's bony palm, and he soon retrieved a picture frame from the box.

"No, it was about your Christmas! There was smoke and fire…"

"She's not lying, Jack," Victoria said from behind him. She remembered her and Sally's conversation on the hill. Jack shook his head as he stared at his picture fondly.

"That's not my Christmas. My Christmas is filled with laughter and joy, and this! My Sandy Claws outfit. I want you to make it!" he said. He swiveled the picture frame around between his fingers so Sally could see it. A neat, colored drawing of Jack in a Santa Claus suit was taped over the original. Sally shook her head.

"Jack, please! It's going to be a disaster," Sally pleaded.

"You'd better listen to her, Jack," Victoria said flatly, "She knows what she's talking about."

"How could it be?" Jack said cheerily, "Just follow the pattern. This part's red, and the trim is white." He ran a finger across the picture, outlining the coat and the sleeve in turn.

"It's a mistake, Jack," the rag doll pressed on.

Jack handed her the drawing, saying, "Now, don't be modest. Who else but you is clever enough to make my Sandy Claws outfit?"

"You're ignoring Sally. Did you know that?" Victoria told Jack sarcastically. Jack grinned and waved at the rag doll.

"And you're ignoring me. Must be trying to break a record."

The Mayor called out, "Next!"

"I have every confidence in you!" Jack called out to Sally as she left. She cast a mournful glance back at Jack and Victoria, and then she started to walk away.

"But it seems so wrong to me," she muttered, "Very wrong." As Sally left, Victoria got up and leaned against the door, blocking Behemoth from entering. Jack gave her a baffled glance.

"Victoria, if you stand against the door like that, no one can come in."

"I know."

"Then why do it?"

Victoria stared Jack straight in the eye sockets and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Your Christmas is corrupt. Everyone in this town is infusing Halloween into Christmas, and with you ignoring me, it's not going to get any better. This could go seriously wrong!" Victoria yelled. Her arms were now up in the air for emphasis. Jack's eye sockets widened a bit, and he backed away some.

"Victoria, I'm telling you! When everything is set up and together, this Christmas will be the best that the world has seen. We just have to wait it out, that's all," Jack explained. Victoria opened her mouth to protest, but the door suddenly burst open despite the pressure. The girl practically flew across the room. The force from the blow had thrown Victoria against a wall.

Worriedly, Jack rushed over. She hadn't been badly hurt, but she was holding her head in anguish.

"Are you alright?" the skeleton asked, looking her over. Victoria opened her eyes and glared at Jack coldly.

"So, I have to throw myself against a wall to get your attention?" she asked audaciously. Jack's worried expression turned into a frustrated scowl.

"Never mind! I don't even know why I bothered, if you were going to act that way," he muttered. He turned around to find Behemoth staring dully at the wall behind him.

Jack fetched a nutcracker from the chest while Victoria picked herself up from the ground. Victoria bored into the back of Jack's skull with a glare that would make many want to shrivel up and die. However, Jack seemed immune to this as he explained the nutcracker to Behemoth.

"This device is called a nutcracker," Jack said slowly. Before he could say anything else, though, the door burst open. Victoria's head whipped around to see the perpetrators, as did Jack. A rumbling noise echoed through the room as a large, walking bathtub tromped into the room, toting a bulging black sack. Lock, Shock, and Barrel followed closely beside it.

"Jack, Jack! We caught him! We caught him!" they cried. The children came to a stop in front of Jack, grinning widely with pride. Jack was a mirror image of the three as he smiled back in excitement.

He exclaimed, "Perfect! Open it up, quickly!" A bony finger pointed to the black bag frantically. Barrel untied the rope in no time at all, and a pink blur suddenly sprang from its confinement and landed in front of Behemoth. The Easter Bunny sniffed around.

Jack slapped a hand to his forehead.

"That's not Sandy Claws!" he moaned in disappointment. Lock, Shock, and Barrel exchanged glances of extreme confusion, muttering amongst themselves.

"It isn't?"

"Who is it?"

Victoria watched, puzzled, as Behemoth leaned in closer to the pink furred rabbit in curiosity.

"Bunny!" he bellowed in delight. With a frightened squeak, the Easter Bunny dove back into the sack, cowering in fear. Jack heaved a sigh and walked over to the tub.

"Not Sandy Claws," he said sadly. Lock and Barrel stepped forward.

"We followed your instructions," the devil child said unsurely.

"We went through the door!" Barrel told him, nodding his pale face vigorously. Jack's face turned to one of irritation as he towered, intimidating, over them all.

"Which door? There's more than one! Sandy Claws is behind the door shaped like this," Jack said, showing them a Christmas cookie shaped like a tree. Shock suddenly smacked Lock in the face.

"I told you!" she said. Lock, in turn, started to wrestle with her, and Barrel joined in almost immediately. Jack stared at them for a second. Then, with skills only a true Pumpkin King could master, he contorted his face horribly and let out a deafening screech. The children gasped and withdrew.

Jack turned his attention to the shivering bag.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir," Jack apologized. He then looked at Lock, Shock, and Barrel, and pointed at the bag.

"Take him home first, and apologize again. Be careful with Sandy Claws when you fetch him. Treat him nicely."

The bathtub trailed after Lock, Shock, and Barrel as they made their way to the door.

"Got it!" they called, "We'll get it right next time." Victoria, who had recovered, strolled over to Jack until she was beside him. They both watched the children exit Town Hall until the door had swung closed with a bang.

"There shouldn't be a next time for them to get it right," Victoria said bitterly. Jack gave her a hard stare before finishing his conversation with Behemoth, who seemed to get a distant grip on the nutcracker. After the giant toddled out of the door, Jack turned towards the girl beside him. His eye sockets didn't meet her face; rather, they seemed to be locked on the piece of parchment in her hands.

Bluntly, he asked, "Anyone else?" Victoria shook her head.

"No. I've checked off everyone on the list," she said apathetically, handing the now messy paper to Jack. He skimmed over it, and his expression turned from mad to ecstatic in a few seconds.

"I can't believe it! Everyone working together on Christmas…making Christmas, if you will. Wonderful! This is spectacular!" Jack rambled, taking Victoria by her hand. She flinched (it was as if she had just doused her hand in icy water), but Jack didn't seem to notice as he led her to the front door.

"Let's see what they're doing so far, shall we?" he suggested as he pushed the door open. It flew open, nearly coming off of its hinges. Jack laughed in an excited disbelief, and Victoria's eyes widened as they both saw the scene that was laid out before them.

A large Christmas tree, or at least it looked like a tree, had been erected in the middle of the town square. Orange and black tinsel was hung around it. Spiky ornaments glittered dangerously like silver blades, and a large bat had been placed at the tip of the tree. The corpse children danced around it in wonder.

Monsters toted large, wooden crates, setting them down when they got to the right location. With crowbars, they pried the lids open to reveal black garland and lights. A member of the jazz band pushed a wheelbarrow full of pumpkins wearing Santa hats. Two witches carried six bats on a pole. The bats were decked out in holly and mistletoe with their wings spread wide.

The creatures were busy at work. Most were at tables set up randomly about the town and were building toys or weaving wreaths. They laughed jovially as they decapitated dolls and smashed toy cars with hammers. Victoria stared on in dismay. Jack, on the other hand, smiled widely and began to run towards the townsfolk, not believing his luck. In a sort of stupor, Victoria followed.

All through the town, a sort of chorus seemed to drift through the air.

"_This time…"_

_"This time…"  
_

Victoria jumped back in surprise as ghosts rose eerily from the main fountain, carrying boxes of tools. They chanted an off key song as they flew in different directions.

"_Making Christmas, making Christmas!" _

The ghosts were soon out of sight. Victoria cast an unsure glance over her shoulder to see if they had gone, and in doing so managed to bump into a rather large corpse woman. She was putting down planks on the road. To Victoria's surprise, the Mayor drove down the makeshift ramp in Jack's snowmobile and was singing a haunting melody.

"_Making Christmas, making Christmas is so fine!" _he sang. The others joined in.

"_It's ours this time and won't the children be surprised!" _

_"It's ours this time."_

Victoria was quick to leave. By now, Jack was far out of sight and Victoria was on her own. She walked by a table where two of the children, a corpse and a mummy, were busy ruining toys.

"_Making Christmas, making Christmas!" _they sang together. A few witches were gathered around a cauldron not too far from them, stirring the contents of the soup inside.

"_Time to give them something fun they'll talk about for years to come!" _

An undersea monster rose from the pot, singing along with them. Victoria shook her head and walked faster away from them. She could still hear the Mayor and the other citizens singing behind her.

"_Let's have a cheer from everyone!"_

_"It's time to party!"_

_"Making Christmas, making Christmas!"_

Vampires were gathered around a table in front of Victoria. They were painting a toy duck, adding oozing blood to gunshot wounds. She tried to ignore the queasiness in her stomach as they wrapped up the duck and laid it aside.

"_Snakes and mice get wrapped up so nice,_

_With spider legs and pretty bows."_

_"It's ours this time!" _

To her left, Victoria could see a corpse man chain-whipping a werewolf and a devil, who were sawing wood. They sang as they worked.

_"All together, that and this,_

_With all our tricks, we're _

_Making Christmas time."_

The werewolf suddenly stopped and pointed over Victoria's head.

"Here comes Jack!" he shouted. Victoria swiveled around to see the towering skeleton behind her, but no feeling of relief came to greet her. Instead of seeing how twisted this Christmas was, Jack was enjoying it. Immensely enjoying it. He looked all around him, grinning like a scarecrow as he spun around on the spot.

"_I can't believe what's happening to me!_

_My hopes, my dreams…my fantasies!_

_Hehehehehe!" _

Jack cackled madly as he was overwhelmed by it all. Victoria looked at him sadly and then took off in the opposite direction. Soon, she saw another table. This time Harley was standing at the other end, taking a rat and slamming it against either side of the table. He puffed out the rodent and placed it on his companion's head.

"_Won't they be impressed? I am a genius._

_See how I transform this old rat_

_Into a most delightful hat!" _

In no time at all, Jack was by his side. He added some constructive criticism to Harley's hat, taking a bat and doing the same.

"_My compliments from me to you,_

_On this, your most intriguing hat._

_Consider though this substitute, _

_A bat in place of this old rat."_

It was hard to keep up with Jack (not that Victoria was trying) as he glided from table to table, putting in his two cents whenever he could. The melting man was busy wrapping up a road kill turtle when Jack popped up beside him. Jack threw away the turtle, much to the other's dismay.

"_No, no, no! That's all wrong._

_This will never make a present._

_It's been dead for much too long,_

_Try something fresher! Something pleasant!_

_Try again, don't give up!" _

Again the skeleton was off. Victoria could see him going everywhere at once, and it was making her quite dizzy. Still, through all the bustle, the eerie song reached her and encircled her thoughts.

"_All together, that and this! _

_With all our tricks, we're_

_Making Christmas time!" _

Night fell quickly. A blanket of stars seemed to be painted across the sky as the sun set, and the crescent moon glowed dimly onto the mangled Christmas scene. A large sleigh in the shape of a coffin had been constructed, and the monsters were now busy loading it with gifts.

"_This time, this time!"_

_"It's ours!"_

_"Making Christmas, making Christmas!_

_La, la, la…_

_It's almost here and we can't wait._

_So ring the bells and celebrate! _

_Cause when the full moon starts to climb, _

_We'll all sing out!"_

_"It's Christmas time!" _Jack finished cheerily. He hugged himself and turned around when the sound of crackling bones startled him. His grin became wider. A trio of skeleton reindeer was floating ominously before him, smiling in a way a skeleton can. Victoria put her head in her hands. This was turning out all wrong. Why couldn't Jack see that for himself?

* * *

**Victoria: _That wasn't much of a break. They're screwing up Christmas!_**

**Musically: _Sorry. I don't think it would have been much different if you had sang._**

**Victoria: _When is it ever different when I sing?_**

**Jack: _(is naming the reindeer) You can be Femur, and you can be Tibula, and you can be Patella! Hoorah for science!_**


	11. Oogie Boogie, We Meet At Last

**Musically: _You've waited, you've wondered...and now, here it is! The long-awaited appearance of Oogie Boogie! I didn't add much choreagraphy on this song because I couldn't remember most of it, but the future chapters will be more eventful, trust me!_**

**Victoria: _Do I have do go down a chute?_**

**Musically: _Yeah. Sorry._**

**Victoria: _Dang! I always have to do that._**

**Jack: _I'M SANTAAAAAA!_**

**Musically: _P.S: My friend gave me Jack Skellington slippers for Christmas today. I shall now die happy._**

* * *

With a gasp, Victoria was yanked from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes groggily. Blurry figures moved around her in the dusty town while moving boxes and carting ornaments, becoming clear after she blinked a few times. Victoria groaned. She thought that they would have been finished by now. Where was she, exactly? She got up from her seat, and she realized that she had dozed off while sitting on the steps of town hall for about the seventh time this week. She got up and brushed herself off, making sure her hair wasn't too messy. Then she backed up and looked at the large clock that was mounted above her. Below it was a timer that read, "One Day 'til Christmas".

Victoria looked around. It seemed that the monsters had done more than a month's work of decorating, but she guessed that they were just getting finished. Stifling a long, heaving sigh, she started to amble casually around town. She heard familiar voices when she passed a makeshift tent that was close beside her.

"You don't look like yourself, Jack, not at all."

"Isn't that wonderful? It couldn't be more wonderful!"

Victoria edged around the thin sheet. A few steps later, she was standing right in front of Sally, who was with a certain skeleton in Santa Claus garb. Jack was admiring his new red coat in the mirror. He stroked his long, white beard experimentally, and then noticed something new in the mirror. The delicate thread was yanked from Sally's needle as Jack turned around to see Victoria standing right behind the two of them.

"Victoria! I was looking all night for you," said Jack, relieved. Sally gave her a small smile, and Victoria was tempted to throw another sarcastic remark at Jack; she hadn't seen him once this week without getting mad at him. Instead, she shrugged aloofly.

"It's all right," Victoria replied, "I bet you were busy with…things." She couldn't bring herself to say Christmas. Jack nodded eagerly as Sally tried to rethread her needle.

"Oh, wouldn't you know it? Everyone was working together, maybe even harder than for Halloween! I just can't believe my idea actually worked, and it's all thanks to you."

_Don't you mean **my **idea, Jack?, _Victoria thought bitterly. Inwardly, she sighed a few seconds later. She would get nowhere with Jack if she continued to be rude to him.

She plastered a smile on her face and asked, "Wouldn't it be better if you just stuck to…Halloween? It's just that there might be a reason Christmas has its own town, and Halloween has its own town. As in separated."

Jack didn't seem to take her hint. He shrugged nonchalantly, sticking out his left arm so Sally could easily restring her forsaken needle.

"Well, like you said, Victoria, Christmas really has no reason. As long as you believe in it, it's real, right? Maybe Halloween applies to that, too," he added thoughtfully. It was everything Victoria could do to keep from slapping a hand to her forehead in frustration. Again, Jack had totally missed the point.

"But you're the Pumpkin King!" Sally protested, dropping her needle. She picked up the pattern and gently lifted the paper, revealing Jack in his haunting black-and-white portrait. Jack shook his head. He grabbed the picture from Sally, and to her surprise, snapped it in half on his knee.

"Not anymore!" Jack said happily, "And I feel so much better now!"

"Jack, I know you think something's missing, but," Sally trailed off as she accidentally poked Jack in the finger with her needle.

Jack gasped, "Ouch!" He put the sore finger in his mouth.

"Sorry!" Sally said quickly.

"Hm," Victoria mused, "I didn't know skeletons could feel pain. You didn't seem to have a lot of trouble when you were pulling your rib out for Zero."

"It's complicated," Jack said passively. He then turned back to Sally, who was still looking a bit abashed about hurting Jack. She finished up the white cuff of his sleeve, and he inspected it fondly in the mirror.

"You're right, something is missing," Jack ruminated, "But what? I've got the beard, the coat, the boots…Oh, it'll come to me."

As soon as Jack's voice faded away, the sound of three familiar voices replaced it. Victoria, Jack, and Sally whipped around to see Lock, Shock, Barrel, and the moving bathtub come hurtling towards them. The children were all yelling with pride, and the bag wiggled around unnervingly. Victoria watched as they came to a screeching halt in front of Jack.

"Jack, Jack! This time we bagged him!"

"This time we really did!" Lock assured him.

"He sure is big, Jack," Barrel said.

"And heavy!" Shock added, remembering her struggle to lift him up into the tub. The bag seemed to rustle uncontrollably for a second or two, and then the rope became untied completely. A muffled voice from inside the sack became clear once its owner came into view.

"Let me out!" Santa Claus shouted as he burst from the bag. Everyone, including Victoria, gasped. Sally put a hand to her mouth, but Jack seemed to skyrocket with excitement. Victoria stood dumbstruck, horrified at seeing Santa as a hostage of Halloween Town.

"They did it," she muttered, "They really kidnapped him." Santa, to Victoria's extreme sorrow, was looking very disheveled and confused as he adjusted to this sight. His beard was dotted from candy that was picked up from being jostled around in the bag. Fine, white hair was now scraggly and rough instead of straight and long.

Jack immediately strode over to Santa Claus, shaking his hand. Victoria swore she could see Santa flinch from the coldness of his grip, but Jack didn't seem to notice.

"Sandy Claws in person. What a pleasure to meet you!" he said amiably. Jack looked down at the hand he was shaking, and then he drew back unexpectedly.

"Why, you have hands! You don't have claws at all," Jack said in wonder. In a daze, Santa stared back up at him.

"Where am I?" Santa asked the air. His gaze seemed to come into focus, and the first thing he noticed was the normal girl standing in front of all the monsters. "Is that…is that Victoria Dalton? What in the world is a nice-list child doing in this place?"

Victoria blushed slightly, and replied, "In all honesty, Santa, I don't really know." Jack was quick to regain the conversation.

"Surprised, aren't you? I knew you would be. You don't have to have another worry about Christmas this year," Jack vaguely explained.

"What?" Santa exclaimed in shock.

Jack was quick to add on, saying, "Consider this a vacation, Sandy! A reward! It's your turn to take it easy."

"But, but, there must be some mistake!" Santa haplessly sputtered. Jack, smiling widely, addressed Lock, Shock, and Barrel.

"See that he's comfortable. Just a second, fellas!" Jack said, snapping his bony fingers. Almost greedily, Jack reached forward and grabbed the drooping hat off of Santa's head, revealing a wisp of white hair that was gathered on the top of his otherwise bald head.

"Of course! That's what I'm missing," Jack 'realized', much to the disappointment of Sally. "Thanks."

"But…but! You just can't…"

The rest of Santa's sentence was cut off as he was forced back into the bag. Barrel secured the rope tightly this time, giggling evilly as he did. It wasn't long until Santa and his captors were well on their way. In the meantime, Jack was practicing his Santa routine.

"Ho, ho, ho…no. Ho, ho, ho!" Jack bellowed experimentally. Behind him and unheard, both Sally and Victoria were whispering quietly.

Simultaneously, they said, "This is much worse than I thought, much worse."

Then, "I know!"

For a moment, the two stared at each other, Sally with a look of confusion, and Victoria with a look of sudden awareness.

"You know what?" she asked Sally cautiously. Sally cast a mournful glance over at the Santa skeleton for a moment, and then looked back at the waiting Victoria.

"Well…I think I have a way to stop Jack from entering the real world. I hate to crush his spirits, though."

Victoria shook her head and said, "Sometimes you have to hurt some feelings if you want to do the right thing. How about this: I follow those kids and get Santa Claus back, and you stop Jack from going into the real world. Okay?"

After a second of consideration, Sally nodded with a small smile.

"Good. See you when I see you," Victoria said, and with that, she was off.

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

From inside the bag, Santa's rumbling voice was barely audible.

"Me on vacation? On Christmas Eve?"

Barrel, who sat comfortably on top of the bulging bag, kicked the top of it lightly with his foot. Shock followed Lock, who confidently led the way.

"Where are we taking him?" Shock asked irritably. She hated it when Lock kept things from her.

Barrel added, "Where?" Lock smiled in a way that could have almost been mistaken for charming instead of poisonous.

"To Oogie Boogie, of course! There's no place in the world more comfortable than that. And Jack did say to make him comfortable, didn't he?"

Shock and Barrel grinned slyly, answering, "Yes, he did."

From the bag again, Santa shouted, "Haven't you ever heard of peace on earth and goodwill towards men?"

"NO!"

Victoria was running to catch up with the three demonic children and their tub, trying not to wear herself out too much in the process. She was a bit grateful for the chilly fall weather; she was sure she wouldn't have survived if it was Independence Day Town with its sweltering July temperatures. Bravely, if not foolishly, Victoria called out to them when she was close enough.

"Hey! HEY!" she shouted. To her relief, the bathtub came to a halt in front of her and the children turned around.

"What do you want?" Lock sneered. This Victoria person seemed like she became more and more authoritative by the minute, and he couldn't stand people like that. Victoria took a second to regain her breath, and then she started to talk again.

"You remember that little conversation we had in the tree house the other day?" Victoria said coldly. Shock and Lock shook their heads vigorously, but Barrel merely stared at her.

"Let me refresh your memory," Victoria said, grabbing a pitchfork and holding it up dangerously to Barrel's eye level.

In a mock sing-song voice, Victoria sang,

_"You can't kidnap Santa Claus, _

_You'll have to go through me!"_

Cautiously, Shock asked, "What are you going to do, then?" She glanced angrily at the pitchfork that Victoria held at Barrel's head.

Victoria considered this a moment, and then she used the pitchfork to point to the bag.

"You let him out, and I won't have to get violent," Victoria said forcefully. Shock seemed like she had just remembered something, and then pointed at the other girl. Her hand began to glow a bright green. Victoria's stomach seemed to drop down to her stomach as a green bolt rushed toward her in the blink of an eye. The pitchfork was knocked from her hands as she flew backwards. While trying to catch her breath, Victoria noticed a bright green rope quickly coiling around her wrists and tying in a knot.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, tugging at the thick rope. It was no use. Suddenly, she felt like a hand was pulling at her wrists with amazingly strong force, dragging behind the bathtub where Barrel sat backwards, looking at her bemusedly.

"Hope you don't mind coming along for the ride," Barrel said cheerfully, "I'm sure Oogie Boogie can find room for both you and Sandy Claws!" His companions sniggered with glee as they took their two new captives to their tree house.

After much pulling and resisting, Victoria was getting tired out. They were now heading up a ramp that Victoria hadn't seen before, one that led up to the house that was nestled among the spidery branches. Soon the bathtub burst through the doors. The same rusty, metallic smell wafted around Victoria as soon as the glinting, sharp weapons came into view.

Shock finally stopped in front of the large tube, letting Santa out of the bag. The children giggled madly as they forced Santa headfirst into the tube, pushing him in with a plunger, a broom, and the infamous pitchfork.

Santa's echoing voice called to them, "Don't do this! Naughty children never get any presents!" However, Lock, Shock, and Barrel merely laughed at Santa's pleas.

"I think he might be too big!" Shock grunted as she pushed.

"No, he's not. If he can fit down a chimney, he can fit through here!" Lock replied as he managed to finally shove him down. Clanking noises were made until a few seconds later, when an unpleasant thump signaled Santa's landing.

The children then turned to Victoria with malicious grins.

"Now you!" Shock ordered, beckoning her with a glowing green hand. Victoria was tugged violently by the magical rope, making her levitate and slide into the opening of the tube. Miraculously, she managed to flip onto her stomach and grab the rim with her hands. With a frown, Lock grabbed the pitchfork from Barrel and aimed it at her fingers.

Instinctively, Victoria let go. As she slid down the pipe, she could hear the laughter of the children following her. Despite the slippery metal, Victoria was able to roll over again, and she held herself back with her shoes. She slid down much more slowly now. It wasn't long before she had overcome all of the twists and curves and was staring at the opening. Luckily, the end of the tube evened out just enough so that she wouldn't fall if she kept herself away from the edge.

Noises came from below her. Noises that didn't belong to Santa, noises that came from someone else. With difficulty, Victoria twisted herself around so that she was lying on her stomach and facing the opening like a child on a rug, watching television. She inched carefully towards the edge, just enough so that she could see what was happening to poor Santa.

Santa was on a wheel. His hands had been tied with the same green rope, except his were held high above his head. They drooped down slightly over the edge of the table-like wheel, and his boots did the same on the other side. He looked around wildly for some kind of villain or criminal. Soon enough, his villain was found.

Suddenly, neon lights seemed to fill the area, making Santa's coat turn a vivid purple. Victoria blinked once or twice to adjust. A pair of dice came sailing out of the air, hitting Santa on the beard harmlessly and bouncing off to make snake eyes. From her loft, Victoria watched in confusion.

A large, burlap sack appeared to lumber over to Santa Claus. It took Victoria a moment to realize that this was Oogie Boogie. He was large, larger than anyone she had seen in Halloween Town, even Behemoth or the bass player. A cruel smile played across his face as he surveyed Santa, who glared defiantly back at him. Greenish tints covered the yellow-grey of his natural skin, and his eyes and mouth were a beady black. To Victoria's surprise, Oogie began to sing.

"_Well, well, well! What have we here?_

_Santa Claus, huh? Oh, I'm really scared!_

_So you're the one everyone's talking about, ha, ha, ha!" _

Victoria squirmed uncomfortably in her place as she saw Oogie take Santa and pick him up, mocking him directly.

"How dare he talk to Santa like that?" Victoria whispered furiously. The rest of her thoughts were drowned out by Oogie Boogie as he continued.

"_You're joking. You're joking!  
I can't believe my eyes!  
You're kidding me, you gotta be._

_This can't be the right guy!_

_He's ancient, he's ugly. _

_I don't know which is worse!_

_I might just split a seam here_

_If I don't die laughing first."_

"Looks a right sight better than you do," Victoria muttered to Oogie as if he could hear her.

"_Now, Mr. Oogie Boogie says_

_There's trouble close at hand._

_You better pay attention now,_

_Cause I'm the Boogie man!_

_And if you aren't shaking,_

_There's something very wrong._

_Cause this might be the last time_

_That you hear the Boogie Song."_

Victoria watched as the neon lights lit up skeletons and bats, who all began to echo Oogie as he danced around his lair.

"_Whoa-oh!" _

_"Whoa-oh"_

_"Whoa-oh!" _

_"Whoa-oh!"_

_"Whoa-oh!"_

_"Whoa-oh!"_

_"I'm the Oogie Boogie man!" _

At this point, Santa broke in, singing as well.

"_Release me now, or you must face the dire consequences!_

_The children are expecting me, so please, come to your senses."_

Oogie snatched Santa up again, laughing mockingly.

"_You're joking, you're joking!_

_I can't believe my ears!_

_Would someone shut this fella up?_

_I'm drowning in my tears. _

_It's funny, I'm laughing!_

_You really are too much. _

_And now, with your permission, _

_I'm going to do my stuff."  
_

Oogie had now cornered Santa, making a miniature snake flicker out of his mouth every now and then. Santa was now quite worried.

"What are you going to do?" he stammered.

Smart-alecky, Oogie replied, "I'm gonna do the best I can."

Victoria's fists clenched tightly. A deep dislike for this Oogie Boogie was welling up deep down inside of her, as if it had been there all along. Still, Oogie sang on.

"_WHOA! The sound of rolling dice to me is_

_Music in the air!  
Cause I'm a gambling Boogie man,_

_Although I don't play fair._

_It's much more fun, I must confess,_

_When lives are on the line._

_Not mine, of course, but yours, old boy!_

_Now that'd be just fine." _

Oogie now had Santa rigged up to a pulley that lifted him by the ropes on his wrist. Santa, who was becoming infuriated, interjected.

"_Release me fast, or you will have to _

_Answer for this heinous act!"_

Either Oogie really thought that this was all terribly funny, or he was ignoring Santa, because he still went on with his song.

"_Oh, brother! You're something! _

_You put me in a spin!_

_You aren't comprehending_

_The position that you're in._

_You're hopeless! You're finished! _

_You haven't got a prayer._

_Cause I'm Mr. Oogie Boogie,_

_And you ain't going nowhere."_

Oogie's cruel laughs mingled in with those of the kids above her. However, the children's laughs faded away faster, which meant they were leaving. Victoria was racking her brain by trying to figure out how she was to escape from the lair, when suddenly, her wrists felt looser. She looked down. The rope had been cut when she was chewing on it during the song (by habit). Relief flooded her senses. Maybe now she could get help for Santa.

After a few shaky steps, Victoria climbed up the metal chute quite easily. She discovered that she had a knack for escaping tight places ever since she came to Halloween Town. At first, she glanced around nervously for any sign of Lock, Shock, or Barrel. There were none. She climbed out of the tree house, ready to tell Jack about Santa, if he would listen, or more importantly, if Sally had succeeded with her mission.

* * *

**Victoria: I didn't know I'd have to climb back up it, too! (rubs sore hands)**

**Musically: You determine your own fate, Ms. Letsuseviolencetosolveourproblems.**

**Jack: I thought that was you who decided our fates.**

**Musically: Why, of course not. How would I be able to do that? You know I wouldn't mess around with greater powers like that... (sinister grin) ...Mwuaha..mwuahahahaha!**


	12. A Fateful Sleigh Ride

**Musically: _Thanks for all the reviews, everyone. They keep me going!_**

**Victoria: _Remember a long, long time ago, when I told people to not review? Yeah. That's still in play, guys. _**

**Musically: _Oh, be quiet. Go find Jack or something._ **

* * *

In the center of Halloween Town, every monster and demon were gathered around the coffin sleigh. The skeleton reindeer pawed restlessly at the ground. Dreary music floated lazily in the air as the band played, and the Mayor stood dutifully beside the coffin and practiced his lines. It seemed as though millions had come to see Jack on his way.

The coffin lids opened with a bang, and then Jack rose up from the casket. Everyone cheered. With a smile, Jack waved to them all, scanning the crowd secretly for Victoria. His face fell slightly as he realized she was nowhere to be seen. Still, he felt that he had an image to uphold tonight. He turned to the Mayor, who began his speech.

Meanwhile, Victoria was just returning from Oogie's lair. She was sprinting across the graveyards, desperate to find someone who could save Santa from that treacherous Boogie man.

"Jack! Jack!" she yelled. It wasn't any use. There was no one around, which wasn't like Halloween Town at all. Where were they? After catching her breath, she heard music and cheering people downtown. She would have smiled if she hadn't known that Santa was in danger. Victoria made her way into the center of town, pushing her way to the front of the crowd to see Jack.

For a second, she thought Santa had transported himself to this spot. There, on the coffin sleigh, was a man decked out in red and white with a hat, a coat and pants, and boots. He laughed merrily and waved to the people. However, he was terribly thin and much taller than Santa could ever be. It was Jack.

Stunned was the only word to describe Victoria at this point. The most far-fetched idea that anyone could ever think of…and he'd gone through with it. It had worked. In desperation, she tried to call out to him.

"Jack! It's Victoria! Don't do it, we've got to save Santa!"

Her shouts were drowned out by the rest of the crowd, who were happily oblivious to the oncoming doom. Victoria stormed off, shoving those in her path. She had to find Sally. Maybe, just maybe, Sally had figured out a way to stop Jack before it was too late.

Victoria decided to rest by the main fountain.

"Victoria!"

"AH!" Victoria screamed, quickly turning around. She felt an instant relief flood through her as she saw Sally, but Sally looked incredibly embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry!" Sally apologized as she helped Victoria up, "Did I scare you?"

"No. You startled me. I'll be fine," Victoria mumbled. She looked interestedly at the jug on the floor near Sally. It looked ancient, dusty, and had an unpleasant brown hue to it, but the label read, "Fog Juice." Sally caught her stare.

"That's your secret weapon?" Victoria asked. Sally nodded.

"Watch."

In a quick motion Sally had snatched up the jug and had begun to pour it into the fountain. A thick fog began to seep out from all sides. The greenish water inside turned a rainy blue and the cold mist wrapped around their ankles. The fog rose like a flood. Soon, it was up to both of their waists. Victoria almost had a hard time seeing Sally as she explained what it would do.

"Victoria, all of the fountains and wells in Halloween Town are connected. At this very second, fog is coming out of this fountain and about four others. The whole town will be covered in it! Jack's reindeer won't be able to get an inch above the ground."

"Sally," Victoria whispered with a grin, "You are amazing!" If she could have seen Sally clearly, she would have noticed the rag doll's cheeks redden. After searching a bit through the mist, Victoria grabbed her hand.

"Come on! We have to see if Jack is going or not."

The two raced through the fog, and soon they found themselves among the crowd again. With some effort they pulled to the front. To their pleasure, Jack's disappointed voice was heard above all the others.

"Oh, no! We can't take off in this! The reindeer can't see an inch in front of their noses," he moaned. He slowly sank back into his seat as the cheers of the crowd faded. Sally and Victoria grinned at each other.

"There go all of my hopes. There go all of my precious plans, my glorious dreams," Jack said mournfully. From beside them, a small corpse child began to cry.

"There goes Christmas," he wailed. Sally cast a guilty glance at Victoria, who simply shook her head.

"It's for the best," she whispered. Suddenly, a small but almost blinding orange light floated past them. Victoria squinted and saw that it was Zero. Zero began to float up to his master, whining and folding his ears backwards. Jack looked quite dejected as he called him off.

"No, Zero. Down, boy," Jack said quietly. As Zero persisted, however, Jack's eye sockets began to widen in realization.

"My, what a brilliant nose you have. All the better to light my way!" Jack exclaimed. The crowd erupted into cheers as Sally and Victoria's faces fell. Jack stood up again and pointed extravagantly towards his bony reindeer.

"To the head of the team, Zero! We're off!"

Zero barked happily and zoomed over in front of the reindeer; his yapping could barely be heard in the new, powerful uproar of the monsters. Sally and Victoria tried unsuccessfully to get Jack's attention.

"Wait, Jack, no!"

"Jack, stop!"

It was too late. The reindeer had already broken into a run behind Zero, and Jack was snapping the whip at them like a madman. His ecstatic laughs echoed for a moment as he rose into the sky, and then there was nothing more. He was gone. As the rest of the crowd dissipated to go look into the cauldron, Victoria and Sally stood there for a moment, staring at the now empty ramp. Quietly, Sally glanced up towards the sky.

"Good bye, Jack. My dearest Jack," she whispered. Victoria looked on in sympathy, and for a second, Santa's impending endangerment seemed to disappear. Sally really did love Jack. The rag doll slowly walked towards the gate of the town, and Victoria followed loyally behind.

"Oh, how I hope my premonition is wrong," Sally told the wind. Victoria caught up to her.

"Don't worry, Sally. I'm sure Jack will be fine," Victoria reassured her. Her words were empty, however, as she was feeling the same way as her friend. Music began to drift from the jazz band as it played in the background, and Sally swayed back and forth to the rhythm. Victoria watched her and leaned on the fence. In an almost angelic voice, Sally began to sing.

"_I sense there's something in the wind_

_That feels like tragedy's at hand._

_And though I'd like to stand by him,_

_Can't shake this feeling that I have."_

She slipped through the bars in the gate beside Victoria. With little effort, Victoria followed her friend into a back alley that was away from all of the commotion of the unaware crowd. Victoria could see a black cat cross both of their paths. As superstitious as she was, Victoria ignored it and went to sit by Sally.

"_The worst is just around the bend._

_And does he notice my feelings for him?_

_No, I think not. It's never to become _

_For I am not the one."_

The cat mewed in small surprise as Sally lifted it up onto her lap. Victoria gave her a sympathetic look, and then she stood up. The cat leapt from Sally's lap and dashed into the shadows of the alley. Sally watched it go forlornly as Victoria began to sing a reassuring melody to her friend.

"_Now, Sally, please don't be that way._

_You two'll be together soon, one day. _

_So though you think there isn't hope,_

_I bet that one day you'll elope!" _

Victoria gave Sally a smile as she joked (at least, for the last part). Sally couldn't bring herself to return the favor, but Victoria didn't take offense. Instead, she kept singing.

"_Oh, yes, it's true. Jack really does love you,_

_He only needs a clue."_

Sally got up. Victoria's message was sinking in, but she still couldn't stop thinking about the danger that Jack was in. Victoria understood. In the middle of the alley, they both sang out their lamentations.

"_What will become of our dear friend?_

_Where will his actions lead us then?  
Although we'd like to join the crowd, _

_In their enthusiastic cloud._

_Try as we may, it doesn't last."_

_"And will we ever end up together?" _Sally sang. Victoria nodded.

"_Don't worry now; you'll fall in love somehow. _

_If the fates only allow." _

Victoria ended the duet. Sally still looked a bit unsure, but Victoria tapped her on the shoulder and pointed towards the gate.

"Come on. If we're ever going to save Christmas, we need to save Santa."

They slipped back through the bars of the gate and walked towards the crowd inconspicuously. Before they joined them, Victoria whispered to Sally.

"Here's what we need to do. I'll stay with the crowd and monitor Jack while you go down and get Santa from Oogie's lair. Think you can handle that?" Victoria asked. Sally hesitated for only a second before nodding vigorously.

"Good. If you're not back in a half-hour, I'll come after you."

"All right," Sally said. She waved before running off in the direction of the tree house. Victoria turned towards the crowd. With her small stature, it was quite easy to sneak up to the very rim of the cauldron and look down into the enchanted waters. It was like looking at a liquid television screen.

Jack was there, still laughing happily as he glided through the sky. Time after time he'd land on the roofs of more children and jump down through the chimney, dragging his large sack of toys behind him. A few more seconds, and he would be out again and on his way. Victoria could see Zero and the reindeer leading the sleigh.

Suddenly, the cauldron went black for a moment. Then a picture appeared on the 'screen' in front of them. It was an anchorwoman, whose head was blocked by the rims of the cauldron. Her voice seemed to blast towards Victoria as she spoke about Jack's midnight ride around the world.

"Reports are pouring in from all over the globe about an imposter who is shamelessly impersonating Santa Claus, mocking and mangling this joyous holiday," she said. Wild cheers rose up from the monsters, while Victoria stared at the cauldron blankly. The rest of the anchorwoman's words were only heard by Victoria as she listened.

"The authorities assure us that at this moment, military units are mobilizing to stop the perpetrator of this heinous crime."

Victoria's jaw dropped. A strangled kind of cry came from her throat, but all she managed to choke out was, "Oh, my God!" The cheers, by now, had died down. The monsters and Victoria were now staring intently at the water, which was now picturing Jack again. Victoria could hear mechanical sounds coming from below him.

His jovial yell was heard, "Look, Zero! Searchlights! They're celebrating, thanking us for doing such a good job." Victoria could see the spotlights illuminating Jack's ghostly face as he waved back down to him. Her soul became filled with dread as a missile nearly grazed Jack's hat.

"Whoa, careful down there! You almost hit us," Jack shouted down to them. Victoria heard Zero's worried bark come from the unseen front of the team, and Jack answered him.

"It's okay, Zero! Head higher!" Jack called. The sleigh rose into the clouds, and then came back into view.

Victoria watched in a kind of hypnotized terror as the explosives were launched towards her friend. It wasn't long until one actually hit a reindeer. The deer's skull was blown clear off, and for a moment, Jack lost control of the reins. The back of his sleigh was blown off, and presents were soon falling to the ground below. Jack was panicked now with realization.

"They're TRYING to hit us! Zero!" Jack yelled out desperately.

Victoria shook her head in shock, whispering, "No, no, no!" Soon, though, the final blow was made. A missile aimed for the middle of the sleigh hit its mark, sending Jack, Zero, and the reindeer falling to the Earth far, far below. As Jack grew smaller on the screen, his voice still rang out.

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" he yelled. The crowd stared in complete silence. Then, a nearby werewolf let out a howl that spoke for all of the citizens' sorrow. Slowly, the monsters bowed their heads, some crying with the overwhelming grief.

"Poor Jack," Victoria whispered. In a swift movement, everyone was looking at Victoria with a newfound anger that replaced all of their sadness.

"Hey, she came up with this whole idea!"

"Victoria's to blame for Skeleton Jack's untimely death!"

"You're right! This Christmas stuff was all her fault!"

Angry shouts rose up from the crowd. Victoria began to back away as they advanced on her, shouting curses and profanities.

"No, it wasn't me! Jack did this to himself!" Victoria admitted, almost shamefully. The citizens didn't seem to hear her over their rage, and she could see the Mayor glare at her before going to announce the news in his car. The vampires' fangs were bared, and the werewolves' claws were sharp and reaching for her.

"Gotta get out of here!" she muttered frantically. Victoria managed to sidestep the monsters and break into a run, fully aware of the angry mob coming after her. That only made her faster. Adrenaline pumped through her, and she could feel the blood rushing as she dodged trees and shrubs. Soon, she was faced with the same gate that she had been at a few minutes ago. She slipped through the bars quickly and looked behind her. The monsters (which were luckily, too big to fit through), roared at her from behind the barrier.

Victoria turned and ran, now fully aware of where she was going. She had to get to Santa and Sally. As she ran, however, the idea of Jack's death was slowly sinking in. Tears streamed down her face as she made her way towards the tree house.

* * *

**Musically: _Oh, don't cry, Victoria!_ **

**Victoria: _There's something in my eye..._**


	13. Oogie's Last Stand

**Musically: _I feel bad for Victoria. Maybe I should tell her that Jack's not dead..._**

**Victoria: _What?_**

**Musically: _Um, nothing! KEEP RUNNING!_**

* * *

Screams came to Victoria from the tree house. Her vision was now blurry and disfigured from all of her tears, but somehow she managed to keep herself on the right track as she sprinted down to Oogie's lair. She slowed down as soon as she saw the opening in the trunk. It was barred, but the poles were just far enough apart that she could slip through them without much difficulty. Her face was flushed from running so fast. She could feel her pulse slowing down from such a rapid rate, but it gave her quite a headache.

Victoria wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. Another scream came from the torture chamber, and Victoria could immediately tell that it belonged to Sally. She lifted a hand to her chest. Her fingertips pressed down, and the hard imprint of her golden locket gave her the tiniest bit of faith. If Jack was dead, and the whole rest of the town hated her, she couldn't get back to the real world anymore. There wasn't anything to lose.

Within seconds, Victoria was sliding through the bars and entering the lair. Damp air weighed her down, making her sluggish and drowsy. Though the passageway was dark, she could see green mold and slime seeping down from the walls, and bats flittering around the ceiling above her. She ducked down a little more. Squeaking mice scattered when Victoria came close, withdrawing back into the shadows. Soon, a light appeared in the distance.

Victoria raced towards it. She could see Santa and Sally on a metal slab in the middle of the room, and Oogie was moving in front of them while tossing something up into the air. As Victoria edged closer, she could see that it was a pair of dice. A bubbling pit of lava was simmering at their feet, and she could see that they were being set up in a trap. Their voices became clear as soon as Victoria came right up to the rim of the tunnel.

"You wait until Jack hears about this! By the time he's through with you, you'll be lucky if you…" Sally began. She was cut off by the Mayor's voice, which was calling out from above them.

"The King of Halloween has been blown to smithereens. Skeleton Jack is now a pile of dust."

Sally gasped in a mix of shock and sorrow. Oogie laughed cruelly and leaned over Santa, shaking the dice in Sally's face. He tossed them in the air and caught them casually while talking smoothly to her.

"What's that you were saying about luck, rag doll?" he asked. Sally burst into another fit of screams while Oogie chuckled perversely.

"Let them go, Oogie!" Victoria called from the tunnel. Oogie whipped around in surprise, while Santa and Sally looked at her hopefully.

"Well, well, well! What have we here? Little Victoria Dalton, huh? I've been expecting you, girl. Why don't you come in and make yourself comfortable?" Oogie said, holding out his chubby arms as far as they would go.

"I'm not doing anything until you get Sally and Santa off of that thing!" Victoria shouted defiantly. Oogie shrugged and started to walk over to the metal slab where Santa and Sally were, reaching towards the rope that held them. A small feeling of relief entered Victoria. He had actually listened to her! The feeling almost instantly evaporated when she saw Oogie draw out a small, wooden chest from behind the slab and open it.

An emotion that hadn't come to Victoria in almost over a month had returned as she saw what crawled out of the box. A flash of orange, and then another of black escaped the chest. They materialized into two giant, clawed hands after Victoria could see clearly, and the long-lost feeling of fear crept into her soul again. There wasn't even time to scream. The hands launched themselves at her and gripped her tightly, not giving her any time to move.

They lifted her up and pulled her towards Oogie Boogie, who was smiling cockily. The black hand moved just enough so that she could talk, but it squeezed her throat uncomfortably. Still, she managed to choke out a few words to the evil man.

"These are yours?" Victoria spat.

"Uh-huh! Surprised, aren't you? You see, I knew that you would be here all along," Oogie told her. Victoria's glare never faltered, but instead looked him straight in the eye (or at least, where there should have been an eye).

"What are you talking about?" Victoria asked with a strained voice. Oogie snapped his fingers. The hands released their grip on the girl, dropping her to the floor. She got up quickly and massaged her sore throat while Oogie beckoned to her.

"Come here," he demanded. The smooth, smarmy quality in his voice had disappeared, leaving a harsh command in its place. Victoria looked back at Sally and Santa, who were staring anxiously back at her. Her face hardened again when she felt Oogie shove her forwards. Behind the slab was a cauldron that was not unlike the ones the witches had at the Christmas celebration. The image reflected in the water was Victoria. It was Victoria, running from the hands at the graveyard on that fateful day that changed her life. She stared into the water, caught in a kind of trance as Oogie spoke to her.

"You see, Victoria, I've been watching you. You're a little bit different than the people in your world, aren't you? You know it. You've never been real interested in that kind of Christmas joy trash, have you? Never quite fit in with the rest of the crowd, have you? The black sheep. Yes, that's you to a point!"

Victoria turned around to face him. Her face was burning, and her eyes had a fiery spark to them.

"What's it to you?" she said coldly.

"Well, I have been looking for something a little bit different," Oogie replied. Victoria raised an eyebrow in confusion, but then looked down as she felt something tugging at her ankles. She gasped. She hadn't felt the hands tie a rope around her legs; she had been too busy listening to Oogie's hateful words.

The boogie man pressed a button near the slab, making Victoria get swept off her feet and into the air by the rope, which withdrew into the ceiling.

Victoria soon found herself dangling over a different lava pit. She was upside down, and her brown hair was hanging down about a foot from the bubbling magma. Heat rose from the lava, making her sweat slightly. From her point of view, she could see a pair of fat, sack-like legs waddling towards her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Something a bit different for my recipes, that is," Oogie laughed. Victoria could see his big stomach shaking as he laughed, and she tried to thrust herself towards him, to somehow claw through his thick skin. He backed off a little, and brushed a hand by her head. Her white hat fell off her head, plummeting towards the lava below. It sizzled and disintegrated before her eyes, and she unwillingly let out a gasp. Oogie chuckled and turned around to face Santa and Sally.

"There, now. Everyone settled in? Good!" Oogie said mockingly. He threw the dice at a nearby skeleton. The cubes rolled through an eye socket and dropped out from the jaw, landing on a lucky seven.

"Seven! It's Oogie's turn to boogie now," he announced arrogantly. Sally screamed as he reached for the lever. He pulled on it, counting as he did so.

"One, two, three, four…five, six, seven!"

The slab tilted slightly with each turn, bringing Santa and Sally closer to the boiling orange lava.

Santa moaned, "This can't be happening!"

"Help!" Sally yelled, but no one was there to answer her pleas. Oogie retrieved the dice from the table and started walking around, openly mocking his prisoners.

"Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust. Oh, I'm feeling weak…with hunger!" he taunted. He strode over to Victoria, who still eyed him with a hate-filled glare.

"I wonder what humans taste like. Hopefully, you won't be too gamey!"

"Bite me!" Victoria snapped. Oogie laughed mirthfully.

"There'll be time for that later, my darlin'. For now, I have to get rid of the appetizers," he said. Oogie tossed the dice into the air and caught them again, rattling them in his hand.

"One more roll of the dice oughta do it," he reasoned. He threw the dice on the table, and two single dots appeared on the top. Oogie looked them over. A scowl grew on his face as he realized he had gotten a square two.

"What? Snake eyes?" Oogie roared. He pounded a fist on the table, making the dice roll over to form a perfect eleven. A wide grin replaced his frown as he walked over to lever.

"Eleven! Looks like I won the jackpot! Bye-bye, doll face, sand man!"

Victoria turned away as she heard Sally's screams and Santa's protests, knowing that eleven cranks of that lever would send them both to their deaths. As she did, she was faced with the upside down image of Jack Skellington's skull.

"Jack!" Victoria whispered in awe. His Santa suit was gone, leaving his blessedly normal pinstripe suit in its place. A concerned expression was on his face, but Victoria could tell he was just as happy to see her as she was to him.

"You have to save them," she told him quietly. Jack nodded, and he stayed to the shadows as Victoria turned around to face Oogie.

"Stop!" Victoria screamed. Oogie looked up for a split second, just enough time to let Jack sneak into the right place. Oogie cackled maliciously as he cranked the lever to its full potential, making Santa and Sally slide down to the lava. He waited expectantly for the sound of sizzling or crackling, but it never came.

"What the-" he muttered. Oogie pressed a hand down on the slab making it turn the other way. He faltered as he saw Jack appear before him, backing away as Jack came forward.

"Hello, Oogie," Jack said smugly.

"J-J-Jack! But they said you were dead!" Oogie stammered, stepping backwards.

Jack had seemingly cornered the boogie man, but then Oogie smirked and stomped on a nearby button on the floor.

"You must be double dead!"

Steel playing cards rose up from the roulette wheel on which they stood, revealing kings and jacks of every suit. Sally and Santa, who were standing safely in the back of the room, gasped. Knife blades protruded from the cards and began to swing wildly around. Jack gasped and moved quickly to avoid them.

"Woah!" he exclaimed. Oogie laughed raucously.

"Well, come on, bone man!" he said, as he pressed another button. The cards and the knives both sank back down into the wheel, but strange slot machines that were designed to look like cowboys were heading rapidly towards him. All of the three had a pistol that they held at Jack. Oogie pointed at them when Jack faced them.

"Fire!" Oogie yelled. Bullets began to shoot rapidly at the skeleton, who had to jump up onto their arms to avoid getting hit. Jack was tiring, but he tried not to show it. He continued his wild dance routine until Sally screamed.

"Jack, look out!"

Jack whipped around just in time to see an enormous circular saw coming straight for him. He leapt out of the way, and then he watched as it cut off the cowboys' arms. Oogie now realized he was fighting a losing battle. In a sort of desperation, he leapt for the rope that held the lava mixer. It rose rapidly into the air, and he laughed and waved as he began to escape.

Oogie called, "So long, Jack! I might miss out on dinner this time, but there's always the next!"

Victoria could see a small thread dangling from Oogie's arm. Jack seemed to notice it too, because he grabbed it and tugged it. A few bugs fell from the loose thread, and Oogie gasped in terror.

"How dare you treat my friends so shamefully!" Jack bellowed. Oogie shook his head in disbelief as Jack threw the thread into the lava mixer. The thread ripped out of his burlap skin, wrapping around the lava mixer and stopping it completely. All that was left of Oogie was about a million bugs, all of which were rapidly falling onto the floor or into the lava.

"Now look what you've done! My bugs, my bugs, my bugs! My bugs!" Oogie screamed. Soon, all that was left were the bugs that had retreated to the shadows, and one little green beetle that was crawling towards Santa. Santa crushed it with the toe of his boot, and then he came out of from behind the slab to face Jack. Jack seemed to be prepared for Santa's anger.

"Forgive me, Mr. Claws. I'm afraid I have made a terrible mess of your holiday," he apologized.

Santa eyed him suspiciously, and then he grabbed his hat and put it on as he said, "Bumpy sleigh ride, Jack? The next time you get the urge to take over someone's holiday, I'd listen to her!" He jabbed a thumb in Sally's direction. She blushed furiously, and she tried not to meet Jack's gaze.

"She's the only one who makes any sense in this insane asylum. Skeletons and boogie men," Santa muttered.

"I hope there's still time," Jack said. Santa looked at him with an almost offended expression.

"To fix Christmas? Of course there is. I'm Santa Claus!"

With that, Santa laid a finger aside of his nose (like in a certain poem Victoria had once read) and up and out of Oogie's lair he rose.

Sally walked up to Jack's side and laid a comforting arm around his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Jack. He'll know what to do," she assured him. Jack looked at her fondly, but with a strange look of surprise on his face.

"How did you get down here, Sally? And you, Victoria?" he inquired.

"I was trying to, um, well, you know…"

"We couldn't just leave you hanging. Like someone I know!" Victoria said, holding out her arms. Jack nodded and untied Victoria, lifting her out of the way so she wouldn't fall into the lava.

"Thanks," Victoria said as she brushed herself off. Jack turned back to Sally, who was still blushing.

"Sally," Jack whispered, "I can't believe I never realized that you…"

"Jack! Jack!"

The three of them spun around to see that the Mayor and Lock, Shock, and Barrel were standing in the entrance. The children were smiling triumphantly as they told the Mayor that they were right.

"Here he is!"

"Alive!"

"Like we said!"

The Mayor threw down a rope to all of them, and then Jack grabbed it with Sally held close to his waist. Victoria got a hold of the rope as well, and in an instant they were pulled up to the world above. Soon, all of them were in the Mayor's car and on the way to safety.

They all talked happily as Jack and Sally relived the tale of their near death experiences. Victoria, on the other hand, looked out the window as the trees and ground rolled slowly by her. The moon and stars were out to greet her as she looked up to the sky. She gazed at them fondly as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Musically: _You guys need to take her home. Now._**

**Jack: _Are you sure?_ **

**Sally: _She was so nice._**

**Musically: _Well...okay, she stays for a few more minutes. Next chapter, though, she's out of here!_**


	14. Home Again

**Musically: _Ah, my last chapter of my first fanfic. I've already got the plans for next Halloween! Wait. I mean, the next fanfic!_**

**Jack: _Oh, dear. We have ourselves a new mayor._**

**Sally: _Death to the old mayor! DEATH!_**

**Musically_: Ooookay. _**

* * *

Victoria shifted around once or twice before her tired green eyes fluttered open. Out in front of her was not the guest room of Jack's home, or even anything that closely resembled Halloween Town. All of the orange and black had vanished, leaving only welcoming, normal colors such as blue and yellow in the room. A window on the wall showed blue skies. Birds twittered outside in the cool December air, and snow coated the dying yellow grass that made up a lawn.

The walls were painted a royal blue. Silvery, modern furniture was set around the room, and the floor was clean except for a few stray socks and shirts that were badly wrinkled and dirty. Victoria sat up in the bed and rubbed her eyes. Blue and white striped sheets were folded around her legs, and a periwinkle down comforter had been pushed to the end of the bed. It took her a minute to realize where she was. Victoria had been transported back into her bedroom in the real world.

She pushed herself sideways so that her feet were hanging over the bed. The plush, white carpet below her was unusually cold. Victoria shivered once and walked dizzily over to her closet and flung the doors open, revealing an array of nearly forty different kinds of shoes. She grabbed a pair of soft navy slippers. They were tossed unceremoniously to the floor behind her as she exited the closet, and then Victoria opened one of her dresser drawers. She quickly changed into some silk pajama pants and a sweatshirt. After putting her slippers on, she opened the door and began to head down the stairs to see if her family was there.

Thoughts raced through Victoria's head. Could all of Halloween Town been a dream that she had? As much as that would have made sense, to her it didn't. She remembered all of them so vividly. Jack's ghostly charms and wit, Sally's caring disposition, and Lock, Shock, and Barrel's mischievousness seemed all too real to have been just a subconscious image. With a sigh, she stepped down to the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes widened as she remembered what day it was.

In the middle of the living room stood a magnificent Christmas tree, all decked out in tinsel, ornaments, and lights. Presents were all sitting unopened by the tree. Victoria's little siblings were all kneeling down by the tree, staring at the gifts impatiently. One of her sisters pointed at Victoria.

"Look, it's Victoria!" she yelled happily. The other children cheered and began to open their presents. It was a family rule that no one could begin to open gifts until everyone was at the living room and awake. Sure enough, every one of Victoria's immediate family was sitting by the tree. In a surge of exhilaration, she ran over to her mother and father, who were seated on a comfortable couch by the wall. She caught her parents in a hug. They returned it with a bit of surprise, as Victoria snuggled down into both of their shoulders, because it was unlike their oldest child to show much affection.

"I'm so glad to see you again!" Victoria said as she lifted herself up. Her parents smiled, but she could see the confusion in their eyes.

Her father asked, "What do you mean by that, Victoria?"

"It's been about a month," Victoria mumbled embarrassedly. Her mother patted her hand.

"You must be overly excited, with all of the Christmas fever and things. Here, go over and open your presents before one of your siblings does," she said. Victoria tried not to let the smile slide off her face as she nodded and turned around.

"It was all a dream," she whispered mournfully. She had been here all along. Why hadn't she remembered it, then? Victoria pushed the thoughts aside as she opened her many numerous presents and threw away the paper. After about fifteen minutes, the gifts were all unwrapped and her parents had gone back to sleep. The children played with their new toys blissfully. Victoria had barely even taken a second glance at her new television set, expensive clothes, or diamond necklace. She was too disheartened about Halloween Town to thoroughly enjoy Christmas now.

She sat by the fireplace. The heat that radiated from the flames warmed her back as she stared wistfully at the ceiling, wishing that somehow she could return to her long lost dream. A tap on her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts. It was icy cold, and Victoria spun around rapidly to see who it was.

"Jack?" she said quickly. One of her sisters, Macy, stood before her with a puzzled expression on her face. Macy shook her head as she sat down beside Victoria and began to warm her hands by the fire.

"No, I'm Macy, remember?" Macy explained slowly, as if she were talking to a child. Victoria's face hardened and she looked away.

"Mom said you were kinda confused today. Anyways, there's still a present for you under the tree. It's in different paper than all the rest, but it looks sort of scary; I wouldn't open it if I were you," Macy said.

She leaned over and whispered in Victoria's ear, "I think it's from the skeleton Santa that came last night." Victoria gazed at her sister as she pulled away.

"Are you serious?" Victoria breathed. It couldn't be true. All of the surrealism of Halloween Town, could it have been a reality after all? As quick as lightning, Victoria dashed over to the tree, searching below the branches for any sign of orange or black. Then…there it was.

A small box was wrapped in striped paper that was black and white, with bats and spiders printed on the paper randomly. Shimmering black ribbon was tied around it. A purple bow was placed in the corner. An envelope was resting in a slanted position on the box, looking like something out of a magazine advertisement. With a shaky hand, Victoria reached towards the envelope. Curly calligraphy stood out on the ivory white parchment, spelling out the words, "To Victoria".

Victoria opened it carefully. A letter that was folded three times came out, and she unfolded it and read it immediately.

"_Dear Victoria,_

_There is so much I wish to explain to you, but I'm afraid I have little time and very little space on this piece of paper. So, I will merely say what needs to be said. First and foremost, I apologize for everything. I foolishly ignored both you and Sally, not to mention put you both in extremely grave danger. I'm so sorry. I was acting too quickly without thinking, and now I have learned my lesson. _

_I've spoken to the citizens of Halloween Town. They are not angry at you anymore, rather, they are hoping for your return. Halloween Town is now waiting for you with open arms. I know that you must be wondering what I mean by this, so please, open your present."_

Victoria paused and set the letter down. She tore off the monochromatic paper to reveal a small, wooden box. The silhouette of a bat was whittled into the lid, which was made of black wood, and tiny pumpkins with tormented faces made up the border. They were all intricately designed and Victoria knew that whoever made this must have put hours of work into it. Carefully, she lifted the lid of the box.

Inside, a silvery card lay nestled into the burgundy folds of a silk cloth and was glistening softly in the pale glow of the fire behind Victoria. Rainbow light spheres from the Christmas tree were reflected off of it. Upon it, a golden drawing of a key with a skull at its head that stood out from the sparkling grey background on which it laid. Victoria thought she could feel a sort of energy pulsing out of it. She picked the card up and flipped it over, but there was nothing except more of the silver plastic. Then she turned it back to the side with the golden key and began to read her letter again.

"_The card that you might now be holding is a Skeleton Key card. By simply holding on to it and saying the name of the place where you wish to go, it will transport you there magically. Perhaps you could use it to visit Halloween Town again. I would advise that you keep it in a safe place, for if it falls into the wrong hands, it can be very powerful._

_And now, the end of my letter. Victoria, how could I have ever doubted you? I put you in such great danger, and yet you came to mine, Sally's, and Sandy's aid. How lucky I am to have met a person like you. Please, come visit us all again in our town of Halloween. _

_With ardor,_

_Jack Skellington" _

Victoria smiled. She placed the card carefully back into the crimson cloth, where it sank down into the folds. The lid slowly closed as she pressed her hand down on it. Victoria lifted herself up with the box in hand and headed up to her room to put the box where it would be safe. She would be visiting Halloween Town in a sooner time than she thought.

* * *

**Musically: _Hrm. That wasn't the best ending I've ever written..._**

**Victoria: _I get to go back? Yay!_ **

**Musically: _Yes, you do. And in the next one, you'll have something very unfortunate and terrifying done to you..._**

**Victoria: _What?_**

**Musically: _Oh, nothing, of course. (grins evilly)_**

** Thanks for the reviews, everyone. You've all inspired hope in a young writer. Give yourselves pats on the back.**


End file.
